Former Asian champions Guangzhou FC will miss the 2025 season after the Chinese Football Association denied the eight-time Chinese Super League (CSL) winners permission to compete due to ongoing financial troubles.
Once a powerhouse of Chinese football and a symbol of a decade of extravagant spending, Guangzhou is one of three clubs – including CSL side Cangzhou Mighty Lions and third-tier Hunan Xiangtao – ruled ineligible for the upcoming campaign.
“The club has made substantial efforts to secure a place in the professional league for the new season, but despite raising funds, historical debts have left us falling short,” Guangzhou said in a statement.
“We regret that we failed to make it and offer our sincerest apologies to fans and all those who support the club. At the same time, we thank you for your understanding and tolerance. We will not change our original intention and will do our best to address the aftermath and support the development of Chinese football and the football communities of Guangdong and Guangzhou.”
The decision to exclude Guangzhou brings a final curtain down on an era of lavish spending within Chinese football.
Property developer China Evergrande purchased the club after its relegation to China’s second tier in 2010 and invested heavily, paying inflated transfer fees and high wages to attract the country’s leading players and high-profile overseas talent.
That move sparked a major boom in the CSL as private businesses sought to deliver President Xi Jinping’s dream of turning China into a regional power with the goal of qualifying for, hosting, and eventually winning the World Cup.
As a sign of the club’s ambition, Guangzhou hired World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi in 2012, and the Italian led the team to the 2013 Asian Champions League title.
Two years later, another World Cup winner, Brazil’s Luiz Felipe Scolari, repeated the feat while continuing Guangzhou’s domestic dominance. The club went on to win eight CSL titles in nine seasons from 2011 to 2019.
China Evergrande’s financial issues, however, saw funding withdrawn from the club in 2021, and after key players and coaching staff departed, Guangzhou were relegated to China League One at the end of the following campaign.
Guangzhou finished 12th in their first season back in China League One in 2023 before finishing third in the 2024 season, missing out on promotion behind Yunnan Yukun and Dalian Yingbo.