As 2014 is about to begin, the preparations for the Chinese Super League clubs have also entered an intense period, and many teams are intensively recruiting players. Evergrande, which has been recruiting heavily in the past few seasons, is still not slow in moving. Liu Jian, the captain of the relegated Qingdao Zhongneng team, will join Guangzhou Evergrande on a free agency.
Guangzhou Evergrande announced the official signing of Liu Jian, the former captain of Qingdao Zhongneng Team. This is also the second domestic player introduced by Guangzhou Evergrande in the 2014 season. Liu Jian is a comprehensive player who can play as a midfielder, central defender and other positions. Liu Jian's joining will add an iron gate to Evergrande's defense and will officially debut on January 20, 2014.
Although Guangzhou Evergrande Club has announced the joining of international footballer Liu Jian, there are still doubts whether the matter will finally come true. On January 3, 2014, Qingdao Zhongneng Club presented a contract signed by Liu Jian extending to 2017. Today, they stated that if the Chinese Football Association cannot resolve the dispute between the three parties, they will resort to justice.
Contract turmoil
Liu Jian presented two contracts, one was a Football Association record contract that ended on December 31, 2013, and the other was a formal contract that ended in January 2014. Expired on September 1st, both contracts have no renewal terms. Liu Jian himself also stated that he had not signed any other contracts with Qingdao Zhongneng.
Qingdao Zhongneng issued a statement: "Liu Jian is a player signed by our club's professional team. The contract period is from December 1, 2013 to January 1, 2017. Guangzhou Evergrande has never made any arrangements for the transfer. "Qingdao Zhongneng also presented a "contract extension to 2017" signed by Liu Jian. However, Liu Jian believed that the contract presented by Qingdao Zhongneng was "forged."
According to insiders, Liu Jian’s contract dispute was caused by the unique “yin and yang contract” of Chinese football. It is understood that in order to cope with the salary limit order of the Chinese Football Association, some clubs usually sign two contracts with their players. The salary standard of the "yang contract" complies with the regulations of the Football Association and is used for filing. The "yin contract" corresponds to the players' true salary. and contract period, and also contains many additional terms and constraints.
At this point, Qingdao Zhongneng said that if the Chinese Football Association cannot solve the problem, it will be brought to justice, "even if all three lose, we will not hesitate." Once Liu Jian's contract dispute enters the court, The procedure has alarmed FIFA. Not only are Qingdao Zhongneng, Liu Jian, and Guangzhou Evergrande implicated, but the Chinese Football Association may also be punished.
The Liu Jian transfer case had a major breakthrough on April 4. The Chinese Football Association obtained the signing results from the judicial note appraisal agency: Liu Jian’s contract renewal contract held by Qingdao Zhongneng [Weibo] was signed by someone else’s forgery. If nothing else happens, based on this result, the Chinese Football Association will also determine that Liu Jian is a free agent.
According to people familiar with the matter, the results of the contract appraisal on the authenticity of Liu Jian’s contract came out on the morning of April 4, but the appraisal results have not been announced.
On the afternoon of April 11, lawyer Liu Jian had received a call from the Chinese Football Association Arbitration Committee, informing him that the Football Association had arbitrated Liu Jian’s case, confirmed that Liu Jian was a free agent, and would begin to provide legal services for the Chinese Football Association. Liu Jian went through the formalities. At this point, Liu Jian's transfer case, which has been making a lot of noise since the beginning of the year, has basically come to an end, and Liu Jian's official debut for Evergrande is just around the corner.
On April 19, 2014, Guangzhou Evergrande played at home against Shanghai Greenland Shenhua in the 7th round of the Chinese Super League. Liu Jian made his first appearance for the Guangzhou Evergrande team.
On the evening of June 29, 2015, it was confirmed that Liu Jian had a fractured rib and would be out of action, and his return date was undetermined.