TIANJIN, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Less than a year after Tianjin Tianhai was disbanded, another Chinese Super League club from the coastal city, Tianjin Tiger, better known as Tianjin Teda, faces uncertainty amid the financial crisis.
With the new season at the corner, Tianjin Tiger has not yet announced the due time for players to gather, nor has they submitted last season's salary and bonus lists confirmed and signed by all coaches and players.
The Tianjin side had applied for a delayed summit of the salary confirmation form, which was supposed to be completed on January 29. But with few players having signed their respective forms, the club faces the danger to be disqualified from the top-flight league of China.
It was told to Xinhua that Tianjin Tiger has owed about 600 million yuan (about 93 million U.S. dollars) in its players' salaries and transfer fees since the club has been financially hit amid the COVID-19 pandemic and found it difficult to earn investing.
Under the crisis, the team's foreign signing Sandro Lima announced to join a Turkish Super League side a few days ago, forwards F. Acheampong and Tiquinho Soares were vowing to leave, and many local players' contracts are about to expire.
Rong Hao, who has played for the team for two seasons, asked for help on social media. He said: "Tianjin needs this team, and the fans also need this team. I hope that the society can help the team tide over the difficulties."
A fan said, if Tianjin Tiger is disbanded, Tianjin will probably not have a Chinese Super League team for a long time, which will be a huge loss for both the fans and the city. Enditem
