The choice of foreign players determines the success or failure of Chinese Super League teams

Written by Han Bing In the Chinese Super League, the selection of foreign players by the 16 teams significantly impacts their results. Those with sharp judgment, such as Shanghai Port, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, Zhejiang, and West Coast, have all reached outcomes pleasing to their teams.

Shanghai Port successfully defended their title without Oscar, Vargas, and Wu Lei. Leonardo's consistent scoring was crucial, Gabriel (11 goals and 6 assists) had impressive stats, and Vital, who replaced Oscar, found his rhythm in the second half of the season. Along with summer signing Melendo, the foreign player squad played an important role for Shanghai Port.

Among West Coast's three new foreign signings for the 2025 season, forwards Davidson (8 goals, 3 assists) and Aziz (10 goals, 8 assists) combined for 18 goals, while Riccioli performed excellently in defense. Last season, West Coast struggled to avoid relegation, but this season they never dropped out of the top 10, earning 8 more points than last year and achieving the club’s highest-ever 9th place finish.

Tianjin Jinmen Tiger brought in Kiles, Salvador, and Ross to build a strong foreign player core. Kiles, with 16 goals and 4 assists, became a key offensive player. Ross is among the best-performing foreign center-backs in the league, and with retained Hadas (7 goals, 5 assists), the foreign contingent performed steadily, helping Jinmen Tiger secure 6th place for two consecutive seasons and improve their points tally by 2 compared to last year.

Zhejiang retained center-back Lucas, a vital figure in defense, while captain Frank showed decent form mid-season. The highlight of their 2025 signings was in attack: Bupenza scored 4 goals and made 2 assists in 6 games, and summer additions Mittelzer (8 goals, 7 assists) and Yago (10 goals, 1 assist) delivered impressive numbers. Together, the two newcomers contributed 18 goals after joining.

Henan’s signings this season were also effective. New defenders Maya and Maidana formed a strong central defense duo. Upfront, new signing Cardoso (10 goals, 6 assists), along with retained Achimpen (14 goals, 5 assists) and Nazario (5 goals, 10 assists), combined for 29 goals and were involved in 40 goals overall, accounting for 77% of the team's total scoring. Not only did they secure survival, but they also reached the FA Cup final.

Some teams paid the price for poor foreign player arrangements. Shanghai Shenhua and Beijing Guoan’s failure to contend for the title is directly connected to their foreign players’ low contribution to attack (Guoan 49.3%, Shenhua 41.8%), the lowest in the league. Shenhua’s early-season signing Mineiro had impressive stats with 8 goals and 6 assists in 14 games but was inconsistent, going six rounds without scoring and failing to score in four matches against top rivals including Shandong Taishan. He suffered a severe injury in June and couldn’t play again in the league. Summer replacement Asue scored 4 goals and 1 assist in 14 games but disappointed, while retained Andre and Teixeira were average. Amadou has struggled to regain form since an injury mid-season.

Beijing Guoan’s new midfielder Dawan was in poor form, center-back Spajic suffered a serious injury in the second half, and retained midfielder Gonzano and defender Ngadeu were unstable. The team’s attack depended almost entirely on Fabio. After winning the first half championship, they collapsed and quickly fell out of the title race.

The choice of emergency foreign signings in the summer window largely determined which teams were relegated. Wesley and Rankelzer were standout performers in the second half. Shenzhen New Pengcheng and Qingdao Hainiu managed to stay up, while Changchun Yatai and Meizhou Hakka’s poor recruitment failed to reverse their decline.