logo
Team bus of CSL leaders Beijing Guoan seized over debt issues, players forced to hire bikes

Team bus of CSL leaders Beijing Guoan seized over debt issues, players forced to hire bikes

Chinese Super League (CSL) leaders Beijing Guoan have had their team bus seized, forcing players to return from training using shared bikes, as the club's parent company struggles with billions of yuan of debt.
Advertisement
Pictures on social media on Friday showed the team bus being towed away with its door bearing a seal from the Beijing Intermediate People's Court.
Images then started circulating on Chinese social media showing three of the club's foreign players hiring shared bikes and riding away from the training complex wearing their kit.
The real estate company Sinobo Group holds a 64 per cent stake in Beijing Guoan and reportedly owes more than 3.68 billion yuan (US$502 million).
Despite the off-field issues, Guoan invested heavily in the build-up to the 2025 season, including bringing in former Barcelona manager Quique Setien to lead the team, as well as seven first-team players.
Three of the club's foreign players have been pictured hiring shared bikes. Photo: Handout
At the halfway stage of the current CSL season, Guoan have yet to lose a match, winning 10 and drawing five to top the league on goal difference. Shanghai Shenhua are second.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

China to stay cautious as Iran seeks help amid clashes with US, Israel: Middle East expert
China to stay cautious as Iran seeks help amid clashes with US, Israel: Middle East expert

South China Morning Post

time6 hours ago

  • South China Morning Post

China to stay cautious as Iran seeks help amid clashes with US, Israel: Middle East expert

Iran may look to China for weapons support amid conflicts with the US and Israel , but Beijing will remain cautious, considering strained economic ties with Tehran and its broader interest in balancing ties with Israel and other Western-aligned states in the region, according to a veteran Chinese expert on the Middle East. Advertisement In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post, Pan Guang, a Chinese scholar of Jewish and Middle East studies, said the conflict between Iran and Israel was unlikely to spiral into a broader war, but tit-for-tat retaliation could continue as Tehran pushes ahead with its nuclear programme, which is believed to persist despite US strikes. Tensions escalated after Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13. The US joined days later, targeting three of Iran's nuclear facilities – marking the most significant Western military action against the Islamic Republic since 1979. Iran retaliated by attacking a US military base in Qatar and striking Israel's strategic port city of Haifa, home to Chinese projects under the Belt and Road Initiative US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire between Iran and Israel this week, which has largely held despite initial violations. However, prospects for a durable truce appear dim, as Iran's core nuclear capabilities are believed to remain intact and Israel remains determined to neutralise what it sees as an existential threat. Beijing, a close partner of Tehran, is being closely watched as the conflict unfolds. On Thursday, Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh joined nine of his counterparts at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's defence ministers' meeting in Qingdao, China, where he called for a bigger Chinese role in easing the conflict. Pan said Iran might seek Chinese weapons in light of its escalating tensions with Israel, drawing lessons from Pakistan's recent conflict with India.

Zac Purton officially secures eighth premiership, while Ellis Wong lands maiden Hong Kong treble at 1,002-1
Zac Purton officially secures eighth premiership, while Ellis Wong lands maiden Hong Kong treble at 1,002-1

South China Morning Post

time6 hours ago

  • South China Morning Post

Zac Purton officially secures eighth premiership, while Ellis Wong lands maiden Hong Kong treble at 1,002-1

Star Australian is 59 wins clear at the top of the premiership table with only 50 races left in the season It's been a mere formality for months but Zac Purton officially secured his eighth title at Sha Tin on Saturday, banging in a treble to move 59 wins clear in the jockeys' premiership with only 50 races left in the season. Purton moved to 126 winners for the campaign – four short of last season's tally with five meetings remaining – and while he's miles off his Hong Kong record tally of 179 victories, he's striking at a ridiculous 23 per cent. 'It's really nice to win another one. Apart from having a stack halfway through [and missing seven weeks through injury], I've had another good season with a few highlights with some big horses,' Purton said, referring to champion sprinter Ka Ying Rising. 'All in all, I'm very happy again.' Purton opened his account aboard Tony Cruz-trained $1.75 chance Gentlemen Legacy in the Class Three Nam Chung River Handicap (2,000m) before completing a running double aboard exciting three-year-old Copartner Fleet in the first section of the Class Four Beas River Handicap (1,200m). Domination at Sha Tin! 😤 Copartner Fleet gets off the mark in emphatic style and shapes as a 3YO with a big future racing in Hong Kong... @zpurton #SummerSeries | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) June 28, 2025 Having his second career start after running a close second on debut last month, the Francis Lui Kin-wai-trained Copartner Fleet dictated proceedings from the front and put the race to bed early in the straight, eventually saluting by three-quarters of a length to reward those who backed him into $1.8. While Purton's first two victories came aboard progressive gallopers on the turf, he completed his three-timer atop a far more exposed horse on a wet-slow all-weather track. Backed late to jump the $3.2 favourite, Fashion Legend travelled nicely just forward of midfield in the Class Four Sha Tau Kok River Handicap (1,650m) before whistling past his rivals in the straight to salute by a length and a quarter. Fashion Legend's second Hong Kong success at start 23 marked the first leg of a double for his trainer David Eustace, who later took out the Class Four Shan Pui River Handicap (1,400m) with Riding Together. 'He's just taken to the dirt. He's had a couple of wins on it now where everything has gone beautifully,' said Eustace of Fashion Legend, who has won twice from six starts since switching surfaces. 'Good barrier [three] and the pace was not too strong, which allows him to stay on the bridle because he's just got a short sprint over the mile. He's gaining a bit of confidence on the dirt.' Elsewhere on Saturday's twilight card, Ellis Wong Chi-wang punched home his first Hong Kong treble with wins aboard King Oberon, S J Tourbillon and Ariel. Riding at his first meeting since reaching 45 career winners and having his claim reduced from 7lb to 5lb, Wong picked up where he left off before his two-meeting suspension with a breakthrough 1,002-1 three-timer. On fire, @elliswong05! 🔥 Our apprentice scoops a Sha Tin treble with a superb front-running ride aboard Ariel for David Hayes... #SummerSeries | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) June 28, 2025 'This is my first time to have three winners in Hong Kong, so I'm very happy,' Wong said. 'These past few months I have had more support and I really appreciate that. I still have a lot to learn but when the opportunities are coming, I have been lucky to take advantage. 'I'm trying to learn a lot from Zac, from Hugh [Bowman], who is very patient, and I love Vincent [Ho Chak-yiu].' The win of Ariel completed a double for David Hayes after the earlier success of Gallant Crown, with the Australian declaring he's 'no chance' despite drawing within seven victories of John Size in the race for the trainers' title.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store