Written by Han Bing On August 15, the draw for the 2025/26 AFC Champions League was completed. The Chinese Super League teams Shanghai Port, Shanghai Shenhua, and Chengdu Rongcheng will take part in the elite league, while Beijing Guoan will enter the AFC League 2.

The placement of the 12 teams in the East Asian elite league is complete. The three strong teams from the Chinese Super League—Shanghai Port, Shanghai Shenhua, and Chengdu Rongcheng—currently rank first, second, and fourth in the league, all vying for the championship. However, looking at the East Asian elite league, the three teams from the Chinese Super League are still only at a mid-to-low level in terms of overall market value, foreign player strength, and national team players.

During the "golden era," the strong teams of the Chinese Super League had top-tier competitiveness in the AFC Champions League, even possessing absolute power to crush opponents. However, after the glamour faded, if Chinese Super League teams want to reach the top eight in the East Asian region, they need to exert all their efforts against their rivals and also rely on a bit of luck.

Overall market value, the Chinese Super League is in the mid-to-low tier.

In the new season of the East Asian elite league, the market value rankings of the 12 participating teams show that the three teams from Japan's J1 League occupy the top three spots, demonstrating strong strength. Sanfrecce Hiroshima leads with €19.83 million, followed by Vissel Kobe at €18.85 million, while the dark horse Machida Zelvia, which finished third in the J1 League last year, ranks third with €16.48 million. Ulsan Hyundai from South Korea ranks fourth at €16.30 million, while Thailand's Buriram United is fifth at €15.25 million. The highest-ranked team from the Chinese Super League, Shanghai Port, is only sixth in the East Asian region at €14.65 million, followed by Shanghai Shenhua at €13.78 million and Chengdu Rongcheng at €10.08 million.

When considering the average market value of participating teams, Japan's J1 League (average €18.39 million) still ranks first, followed by the Thai League (average €16.30 million) and the Malaysian League (average €14.10 million), which surpasses South Korea's K1 League (average €14.04 million). The Chinese Super League ranks fifth at €12.84 million, just ahead of the Australian League (average €6.90 million).

Last year, Shanghai Port ranked first in the East Asian region with a market value of €18.30 million, ahead of Ulsan Hyundai (€17.70 million) and Yokohama F. Marinos (€17.55 million). However, the group advantage of Japanese teams remains prominent, with Kawasaki Frontale (€17.00 million) and Vissel Kobe (€16.50 million) closely following. Last year, Shandong Taishan ranked sixth at €12.90 million, while Shanghai Shenhua was eighth at €11.50 million, with South Korean teams Gwangju FC, Pohang Steelers, and Thai powerhouse Buriram United trailing behind. This year, Shanghai Port's total market value plummeted by €3.65 million, a drop of over 20%, falling directly from first to sixth in the East Asian region, nearly dropping out of the "upper half." Shanghai Shenhua's value increased by €2.28 million compared to last year, but Chengdu Rongcheng's value decreased by €2.82 million compared to last year's Shandong Taishan.

In contrast to the Chinese Super League, the total market value of the three teams from Japan and South Korea has significantly increased. Both Buriram United and Johor Darul Ta'zim have also seen substantial rises in their market values, causing a sharp decline in the rankings of the Chinese Super League teams, with most of them nearly falling into the "lower half."

Foreign players' market value no longer holds an advantage.

Last year, Chinese Super League teams participating in the elite league were severely affected by the complete relaxation of the number of foreign players allowed. This year, the teams Shanghai Port and Shenhua both changed foreign players during the second transfer window, but they do not hold a clear advantage in the East Asian region. In terms of market value, five of the top ten foreign players in the East Asian region are from the Chinese Super League. Shanghai Port's Brazilian striker Leonardo (€3.50 million) ranks first, while Shanghai Shenhua's newly signed forward Asu-E (€2.00 million) is tied for fourth with Romulo (Chengdu Rongcheng) and Vital (Shanghai Port), and Mineiro (€1.80 million, Shanghai Shenhua) is tied for seventh.

The most notable player is Seoul FC's Lingard, whose peak market value reached €40 million. The former Manchester United star is currently the leading foreign player in the East Asian region. After the departure of the last big-name foreign player Oscar from the "golden era" of the Chinese Super League, the market value advantage of foreign players from the Chinese Super League has significantly diminished, dropping to the average range in the East Asian region. Although Leonardo is the highest-valued foreign player, Japan's midfielder Kawabe Jun and he are tied for first place, with the market value of top foreign players in the AFC Champions League being comparable to that of Japanese domestic players. Kawabe's peak market value is €5.00 million (June 2024), while Leonardo's is only €4.00 million (December 2024). Recently, Kawabe can only make the squad for the "three Japanese teams" participating in this year's East Asian Cup, having been absent from the Japanese national team for nearly two years.

If we include the naturalized Brazilian forward Figueiredo (€2.00 million) in Malaysia, besides Leonardo standing out, Asu-E, Romulo, Vital, Mineiro, and Pisoli (Brazil, Buriram United), Tuller (Brazil, Vissel Kobe), and Figueiredo are all in the same market value range. A total of 21 foreign players in the East Asian elite league have a market value exceeding €1.00 million, with the Chinese Super League having 10, K1 League 5, J1 League 4, Thai League 2, and including non-blood naturalized players, the Malaysian league has two players with a market value of €1.00 million or above who are considered "quasi-foreign players."

Although J1 League has lifted restrictions on the number of foreign players, Sanfrecce Hiroshima only has 5 foreign players, Vissel Kobe has 6, and Machida Zelvia has the most (8). The three Japanese teams have a total of 6 foreign national team players, 5 of whom are from Machida Zelvia. The Korean center-back Kim Joo-sung, who recently joined Sanfrecce Hiroshima, is also a "East Asian Cup national team player," having scored against China in this year's East Asian Cup.

Compared to last year, Johor Darul Ta'zim and Buriram United have become even more "frenzied," with Johor Darul Ta'zim's first team having as many as 15 foreign players and Buriram United having 14. Ultimately, at least 9 will make it into the AFC Champions League roster. Buriram United has 4 foreign players who are active national team players, all concentrated in Southeast Asia. In contrast, the three teams from the Chinese Super League not only have fewer foreign players, but among all 15 foreign players, only Asu-E, who just joined during the second transfer window, is an active national team player (from Equatorial Guinea).

Domestic players are completely lagging behind.

In the East Asian elite league, there are 42 players with a market value exceeding €1.00 million, of which 21 are local players within Asia. Even excluding the two non-blood naturalized Brazilian players from Malaysia, there are still 19 Asian local players. Japanese players number as many as 14, occupying two-thirds, demonstrating a comprehensive advantage in terms of strength. Kawabe Jun, a national team player who just participated in the East Asian Cup, has a market value of €3.50 million, tying with Shanghai Port's Leonardo for first in the East Asian region. The team with the highest total market value in the East Asian region, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, boasts 6 local players with a market value over €1.00 million, with goalkeeper Osako Keisuke (€1.70 million) being Japan's backup goalkeeper, participating in the East Asian Cup alongside Kawabe, Hayashi Jun (also €1.70 million), and Tanaka Sō (€1.30 million), while Naito and Nakano (both €1.20 million) have yet to be selected for the Japanese national team.

Vissel Kobe has 4 local players with a market value over €1.00 million, with goalkeeper Maekawa Daisuke being a former backup goalkeeper for the Japanese national team, and forward Miyashita Daisei being an "East Asian Cup national team player." The dark horse Machida Zelvia also has 4 local players with a market value over €1.00 million, including goalkeeper Tani Akira, center-back Nakayama Yuta, and winger Sōma Yūki, all of whom are current national team players. Sōma is even the captain of the "three Japanese teams" in the East Asian Cup, but all three are marginal players on the national team, with Nakayama having only been called up to the Japan national team three times since the Asian Cup last year without making an appearance, and forward Nishimura Takuma was also included in the East Asian Cup squad but withdrew due to injury.

Ulsan Hyundai, Buriram United, and Johor Darul Ta'zim each have two local players with a market value over €1.00 million, but the local players from Johor Darul Ta'zim are all non-blood naturalized national team players. In addition to foreign players, both Johor Darul Ta'zim and Buriram United have a large number of naturalized players to enhance their strength. Johor Darul Ta'zim has as many as 10 naturalized players, while Buriram United has 3. Furthermore, both Johor Darul Ta'zim and Buriram United are also rich in national team players, with a total of 16 national team players having been called up to their respective national teams in the past year for Johor Darul Ta'zim, and 7 for Buriram United.

The three Japanese teams have only 9 "East Asian Cup national team players," 3 South Korean "East Asian Cup national team players," and two non-East Asian Cup national team players. The South Korean teams have 5 "East Asian Cup national team players" and 4 non-East Asian Cup national team players. The three teams from the Chinese Super League have 12 "East Asian Cup national team players" and 10 non-East Asian Cup national team players, with both Shanghai Port and Shenhua having 8 players, and Chengdu Rongcheng having 6.