Stories started to spread on Monday that Chinese home appliance chain Suning was set to buy a stake in Spanish megaclub Barcelona. If true, it would have blown news of Alibaba buying a 50% stake in Guangzhou Evergrande out of the water.
Continue reading Suning’s Barca deal continues Chinese trend
Despite effectively being blocked from doing anything of consequence in the US, Chinese telecoms group Huawei has been continuing its expansion plans in Europe and elsewhere, thanks in part to an increasingly successful soft power campaign that has seen the firm partner up with a variety of sports properties. In the last year alone, Huawei signed deals with: Continue reading PSG becomes Huawei’s jewel in the crown
David Beckham always says all the right things to all the right people, but if he is to fulfill all his promises and obligations, he may need to start cloning himself. With soccer-related commitments in at least the UK, the US, France and China (and possibly others in Qatar in elsewhere), plus countless sponsorship obligations around the world, Beckham’s retirement will be anything but relaxed.
Continue reading China may lose out as Beckham weighs up retirement options
I’ve already had people ask me what time David Beckham is arriving on Wednesday so they can camp out early at the airport. Whether he appeals to smitten females or potential soccer fans (or both), one thing is certain: Beckham’s visit to China will be crazy. Let’s just hope no one gets trampled….
Here’s my Sports Talk column from today’s Global Times on how he’s made a career out of proving the doubters wrong: