Foreign Players of the 'Big Three' with Contracts Expiring at Year-End: Shanghai Shenhua Have Three Including Mineiro, Shandong Taishan Have Two

On September 4, the Chinese Super League begins the 26th round. With five rounds remaining in the league, both Shanghai Shenhua and Shandong Taishan, two of the traditional top clubs, have foreign players whose contracts are expiring. As there has been no official news about renewals, it is estimated that extensions may be difficult.

After Shandong Taishan were eliminated at home in the FA Cup quarterfinals, the team has basically started planning for next season. At present, Zeca and Madruğa's contracts are about to expire. To be fair, Madruğa's style of play is very positive, but he cannot carry Shandong Taishan's midfield. Without him, Shandong Taishan were still able to win away against Shenhua. As the most expensive signing of the 2024 winter transfer window, Zeca has a high salary, but in reality his goal efficiency has not been particularly high. His overall performance has not been outstanding, making a renewal difficult.

For Shenhua, three foreign players have contracts expiring this year: Teixeira, Manafa and Mineiro. Among them, the writer believes Mineiro is unlikely to renew at the end of the year, mainly because he has suffered too many injuries over the past two years. He missed 16 league matches in his first season and up to 13 league matches in the second season. He has appeared in eight rounds so far, with a maximum of five league appearances. More importantly, he did not complete a full match in any of those eight games, and he was sent off with a red card in the important FA Cup match against Dalian Yingbo.

Teixeira may also find it difficult to renew his contract. It seems that Slutsky is the coach who understands him best. Coaches such as Shenhua's 2023 manager and Milojovic also failed to find the best way to use him. Manafa has strong injury resistance, but his weaker foot is a limitation, meaning he can only play as a right-back and is not suitable as a left-back. The writer believes that the benefits of Shenhua rebuilding next year outweigh the value of keeping the existing foreign players.

For Beijing Guoan, the situation is more complicated because the contracts for the two foreign players loaned for the AFC Champions League are unclear. It is unknown whether they run until the end of the year or next year. In addition, the contract details of Ramos and Conte are also unavailable to the writer. The writer found that Davan and Spajic's contracts run until 2027, but feels this information may not be accurate. After the league ends, more details should be confirmed, with official announcements being the standard. Davan has already finished his league schedule, but he can still play in the AFC Champions League Elite.