Sohu, one of the main Chinese Internet portals, recently released a list of the top 15 highest salaries in the Chinese Super League. A lot of what you see is to be expected, Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai Shenhua are well represented. The list includes coaches and players and so it’s interesting to see four managers on the list, especially since two of the clubs lack a player on it and another only has one. More than anything it serves as a sign of the money to be earned by going east (or as is the case for a number of players on the list who came from South America, going west).
| Player | Club | Salary (in millions) | |
| 1 | Drogba | Shenhua | $15.19 |
| 2 | Anelka | Shenhua | $15.19 |
| 3 | Lippi | Evergrande (m) | $12.66 |
| 4 | Barrios | Evergrande | $8.23 |
| 5 | Yakubu | R&F | $7.85 |
| 6 | Conca | Evergrande | $7 |
| 7 | Moises | Shenhua | $3.50 |
| 8 | Moreno | Shenhua | $3 |
| 9 | Okada | Greentown (m) | $2.36 |
| 10 | Pacheco | Guoan (m) | $2.20 |
| 11 | David | R&F | $2 |
| 12 | Kanoute | Guoan | $2 |
| 13 | Vingada | Shide (m) | $2 |
| 14 | Jevtic | Sainty | $1.50 |
| 15 | Cleo | Evergrande | $1.50 |
*(m) denoted
by bcheng
Top spot makes X10 of the 15th spot…no wonder the CSL is lonely at the top.
Also where is the 2011 CSL MVP Muriqui?
The best stat I’ve heard which shows the huge salary gap is that Lippi makes 80 times more than last year’s CSL Manager of the Year Ma Lin. I know the transfer fee for Muriqui was around $3 million, but I guess his salary is less, probably in the top 20 somewhere between $1 and $1.5 million, though that may have changed since he re-upped his contract today.
Speak of the devil, yesterday Muriqui signed a new contract putting him over $2 million a year.
Muruiqui’s salary is well deserved (compared to some on the list).
Flippin ‘eck. I’m betting that the Ivory Coast will be awash with schools and hospitals after a couple of years.