The Guangzhou team is working hard for survival: the funding gap is as high as 10 million, and the coach is also rumored to leave the team

Reporter Wang Wei reports On December 2, the Chinese Football Association announced the list of the first batch of clubs to complete debt settlement in the 2025 professional league, and the Guangzhou team was not on the list. On the evening of December 12, Liu Qian, chairman of Guangzhou Football Club and principal of Evergrande Football School, and Gao Hong, director of youth training of the football school, appeared in the live broadcast room of the Guangzhou team to interact with fans. ”

Due to the club's poor economic situation in recent years, the Guangzhou team has been difficult to access every year. The 2025 season is much more difficult to access than the 2024 season, and the problem of Guangzhou team's debt settlement is mainly due to the debts of players and coaches in the past.

"Whether it is the original big players or small players, they have suffered so much since they were young, they have gone through so many trials, they can stand on a high-level field and have their own value, whether it is their own experience or what they have paid for the club, they are not wrong. I know all the fans want us to live, sometimes it can be a little bit more emotional, and even some emotions can be put on the players who are owed wages, and I don't recommend that because there is nothing wrong with the players. When interacting with fans, Liu Qian hopes that fans will be rational in dealing with players who are owed wages.

Guangzhou Football Club is still negotiating and communicating with some players, but everyone is moving closer to each other. "We have tried all kinds of ways to raise funds, but because it is as high as tens of millions, to be honest, there are still some gaps, but please also ask the fans, please rest assured, until the last moment, we will never give up in the slightest."

It is undeniable that this year's access is much more difficult than last year, "according to the current situation, it is expected that next week, the second approved list (note: it should be the second batch of clubs that have completed debt settlement) will be publicized, and the time left for the Guangzhou team is only four or five days." Liu Qian said, "During this period of time, the club has been fighting for everything for the Guangzhou team, including many fans, and even some employees have crowdfunded thousands of yuan for the club." We will insist on the matter of access, on the one hand, we hope that the Guangzhou team can survive, and on the other hand, we really want to be responsible for the players. ”

At the beginning of this year, the Guangzhou team also faced many difficulties during the league access. In times of crisis, a number of fans and companies have reached out to help, such as Longe becoming the advertising sponsor behind the club's first-team and echelon jerseys, and many other companies have also stepped in to help the club tide over the difficulties at key moments. In the words of one fan, "The icing on the cake is what everyone yearns for, but sending charcoal in the snow is true love".

Regarding the survival and future of the Guangzhou team, Liu Qian said: "The normal approach or the practice of the vast majority of people will choose to give up and choose to start over. But we don't have this idea as a team, we don't do it, we have to be responsible for this history, we have to be responsible for the future of the club, so we can't just live, we have to live with integrity. So we chose the most difficult path, the most difficult direction. ”

In the past three years, the Guangzhou team has been persevering in a very difficult state, but it has always been unwilling to give up. "From last year's admission to this year's access, including the days when I came to the club, it taught me a truth, maybe difficulties will always be with us for a long time, but because we are a Guangzhou team, we chose to go on, why should we be afraid of difficulties and hardships in the process."

"I also know that everyone is very concerned about the access of the Guangzhou team, we don't want the fans to have a bad sleep and eat because of this matter, I believe that we all work together and nothing is invincible. We will definitely survive, and the Guangzhou team will definitely survive. With such a large fan base, we will definitely overcome the difficulties. Gao Hong and Liu Qian expressed their condolences and comforted the fans.

Next, the Guangzhou team needs to continue to work hard for the club to complete the debt settlement, on the one hand, it needs to find a good way to take appropriate measures to reach an agreement with the players and coaches who have been in arrears of wages in the past, so that the Guangzhou team can tide over the difficulties. In addition, the Guangzhou team held the "Support the Guangzhou Team, Offline Sale" at the Lightning Bear Football Park from December 13th to 15th, and the club hopes to raise funds through various measures and methods to carry out historical debt settlement and self-rescue actions.

In addition to dealing with access issues, Guangzhou is also in danger of losing its head coach. Recently, it was reported that Chongqing Tonglianglong Football Club of the Chinese League intends to invite Guangzhou coach Salvador to serve as the head coach of the team in the 2025 season.

In the 2024 season, El Salvador will rejuvenate the Guangzhou squad on the basis of last year. Zhang Zhixiong, Bai Yutao, Wu Zitong, Waili Kurban and other youngsters made their professional debuts as players of the Guangzhou team, the first two were also selected for the Chinese U19 men's football team for their outstanding performances, and behind them there are as many as twenty or thirty players of the national junior team, waiting to be gradually promoted to the first team of the Guangzhou team. There is a steady stream of excellent young players, and the Guangzhou team is in great need of a good coach to cash these talents on the pitch at this time. In this regard, El Salvador has done a good job. In the just-concluded season of the Chinese League, the Guangzhou team played a pleasing offensive football under the tutelage of El Salvador, and smooth transmission and wonderful cooperation became the norm of the game. It can be said that El Salvador's coaching has been of great help to the improvement of the Guangzhou team.

Talking about El Salvador, Liu Qian said: "We strongly hope that Lao Salvador can stay and continue to cooperate. At the same time, after the end of the season, we have provided him and his team with an offer that the Guangzhou team can afford at the moment, according to the actual situation of the club, but this is a two-way choice, and the decision is made by Lao San. As the head coach of the Guangzhou team, he deserves to be remembered, and no matter what choice he makes, he deserves our respect. ”

The next few days will be crucial for the Guangzhou team, the Guangzhou team is still working hard, the Guangzhou fans are still working hard, and no one chooses to give up.