Chinese FA imposes foreign player limit and turns off the CSL money faucet

So, don't expect Diego Costa to make a move this January.

By Kim McCauley@lgbtqfc Jan 16, 2017, 8:32am EST

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The Chinese Super League season gets underway in six weeks, and its teams have been dealt a blow by a surprise rule change. The Chinese FA confirmed over the weekend that teams will only be allowed to field three foreign players at a time. Teams used to be limited to four foreigners of any nationality, plus one extra slot for an Asian player from outside China.

In a statement, the Chinese FA said that they changed the rules "to benefit the overall development of Chinese football and Chinese local players, to enhance the quality of the national team and to keep the professional league on a healthy, stable, and consistent track." They also hit out against the big spending that Chinese clubs have been engaging in. "The CFA will continue to release new rules and policies to regulate the irrational expense of the Chinese Super League and the China League, including the overpaying of domestic and international transfer fees and salaries in order to professionalize clubs' operations and management," they said.

While teams are still allowed to carry five foreign players, many teams are presented with a problem now that only three of them can play at a time. Every CSL team already has three foreign players under contract, while two of them have four and 12 have five. Some of those teams with five foreigners might look to sell one of those players or release them from their contract to avoid superfluous spending on a player they can't even field most weeks.

This move should end most of the speculation about top European players moving to China during this transfer window. While CSL clubs might resume their pursuits of big names over the next two transfer windows, after they've had some time to get rid of foreign players currently on the books, it's unlikely that the likes of Chelsea's Diego Costa will be making the move this January.

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