Chinese clubs spent £331m during the country’s winter transfer window, outstripping the Premier League.
The country’s winter window closed on Tuesday, with the 16 Chinese Super League clubs passing the £215m spent by England’s 20 top-tier teams in January.
Oscar’s move to Shanghai SIPG for about £60m and Shanghai Shenhua’s reported £40m deal for Carlos Tevez came days before spending caps were announced.
Limits on the number foreign players in squads are in place for the new season.
Only three non-Chinese players can be fielded in a fixture when the season starts in March, a move the country’s football association hopes will combat “irrational” spending.
But the total spend for the winter window – which ran from 1 January to 28 February – was a record for the Super League, exceeding the 2016 window by £36m.
Big movers, big spenders
The Chinese Super League’s spending power came to prominence when 25-year-old Oscar agreed leave Chelsea to join forces with former manager Andre Villas-Boas.
It proved the biggest deal globally in the winter window but other notable Chinese moves saw Odion Ighalo join Changchun Yatai – a side who finished fifth from bottom last season – for £20m.
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