Owner of Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian has revealed that they have given up their chase for Chelsea star Diego Costa.
It’s down to a new rule in the Chinese Super League (CSL) that puts a restriction on foreign players.
Billionaire Shu Yuhui claimed his club backed out of moves for Costa, Edinson Cavani, Karim Benzema, Radamel Falcao and Raul Jimenez following a change in the rule concerning how many foreign players are allowed in a matchday squad.
“If [the rule] had been ‘4+1’ as in the past, then we would have made a big investment this year, but now it seems to be changed to three,” Yuhui told Tianjin TV.
“This situation has brought a change to our signing plans. The online reports about Costa, it’s true we’d like him, and we made an offer for Cavani and were deep in negotiations.”
By Ben Kelly – @benkelly_10