Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo announced Monday that he will open 30 soccer schools in China and train Chinese youngsters with his special method.
When attending the opening ceremony of his soccer school in Campinas of Sao Paulo state, Ronaldo showed his optimism towards Chinese soccer market, and hoped his understanding of soccer could help China improve its soccer level.
"Besides business factor, the major reason for me to open soccer school in China is because there are lots of soccer fans and players in the country, and Chinese government and civil organization also focus on soccer development. I hope my method of soccer training could help develop Chinese soccer," Ronaldo told Xinhua.
"I think Chinese soccer has the mass base and determination, but it may still lack the proper concept and training method," Ronaldo added.
As Ronaldo said, Chinese soccer has become an attractive destination of investment. According to statistics released by Germany's Transfer Market, the Chinese Super League (CSL) spent a record 108 million euros to buy players and coaches on the 2014/2015 transfer market.
The Chinese league, which has been professional for only 20 years, stands second to only the English Premier League in terms of the money spent on transfers, topping most of the top-flight leagues around the world.
Last week, CSL sold its broadcasting rights for 8 billion yuan for the five years in 2016-2020.
The Chinese government announced an ambitious soccer reform plan earlier this year, which includes the women's team's return to the world top class as a mid-term goal and the men's side joining the world leading powers in the long run. Bidding to host the World Cup is also listed as a long-term goal.
Despite the investment and reform plan, China has been bothered by the lowly performance of the national sides. The men's team just qualified for one World Cup finals, in 2002. Meanwhile, the women's side is struggling to recreate their glory as the 1999 World Cup runners-up.
Carlos Wizard Martins, president of Ronaldo soccer academy, believed with the help of Ronaldo soccer academy, China could make progress on World Cup stage.
According to him, China is the most important market of Ronaldo soccer academy. Ronaldo and he have already opened some soccer schools in the United States and Brazil, but the total number in two countries are much less than the projected number in China.
Martins said the Ronaldo soccer schools in China will be mainly located in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen in a franchising model. They plan to cooperate with Chinese public schools and soccer schools. Meanwhile some elite young players will also learn soccer in the United States and Brazil.
Martins said he will accompany Ronaldo to visit Beijing in November and attend the opening ceremony of their soccer school in China. They will also discuss with Chinese professionals about how to deepen the cooperation in terms of soccer industry.
Popularly dubbed "the phenomenon", Ronaldo is considered as one of the greatest football players of all time. He is one of only four players to have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times or more, along with Zinedine Zidane, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He also won the Ballon d'Or twice, in 1997 and again in 2002.
