China's Shanghai Shenhua Sign Up with French Star Anelka

China’s graft-addled Super League sank so low it was pulled from national TV, but the signing of French star Nicolas Anelka highlights a gold rush that could finally drag Chinese soccer out of the mire.

Zhou Jun (L), Director of Shanghai Shenhua Football Club and Chelsea soccer player Nicolas Anelka holding up a souvenir jersey of Shanghai Shenhua FC during a meeting in Europe. -Photo by Reuters

Anelka’s two-year deal with Shanghai Shenhua, who finished in the lower half of the table last season, comes just a year after the Super League’s nadir when a major match-fixing crackdown left senior officials facing jail.

Shanghai’s benefactor is colourful industrialist Zhu Jun, who tried to hire Argentina legend Diego Maradona as a coach and once said he had launched a bid for Liverpool, according to reports.

[ via Moving Sports ]

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Posted in: Anelka, Business, Chelsea, China, Football, Shanghai Shenhua, Sports, Super League