Transfer Centre

Diego Costa move to China 'scuppered by rule change'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 17 January 2017

The owner of Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian claims that rule changes in the division have scuppered a move for Diego Costa, Karim Benzema and Edinson Cavani.

The owner of Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian has claimed that Diego Costa's proposed move from Chelsea has broken down due to a change in the rules regarding foreign players in the division.

Costa has been heavily linked with a lucrative switch to China having reportedly fallen out with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte after being unsettled by a £30m-a-year offer from Tianjin.

However, the CSL has since announced plans to limit the number of foreign players in a matchday squad to three, forcing Tianjin owner Shu Yuhui to pull out of a number of high-profile transfers.

"This situation has brought a change to our signing plans. If [the rule] had been '4 +1' as in the past, then we would have made a big investment this year, but now it seems to be changed to three. The online reports about Costa, it's true we'd like him, and we made an offer for [Edinson] Cavani and were deep in negotiations," he told Tianjin TV.

"We couldn't afford to wait half a season. We continue to wait and suffer, but at the end of the day, we'll get someone. We have targeted a lot of strikers, and made an offer for [Karim] Benzema, but with this policy change, we are very helpless.

"[Agent Jorge] Mendes came to my home a few days ago and we also had ideas about Costa, but in the process were ready to sign two players, the contracts were done, the price was good - [Radamel] Falcao and Raul Jimenez. The contracts were ready, the two players ready to sign, and then we get the news about the salary limits and restrictions on foreign players, so that made us change."

The rules on foreign imports will come into play when the new season begins in March.