Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he believes that India has the potential to become the next big football transfer powerhouse after China, PTI reported. With China’s Super League clubs splurging big bucks in the transfer market, Wenger said he also expected India to be the next country to lure major European football stars.
“It takes years of culture and work,” the 67-year-old Wenger said, when asked about China’s Super League clubs poaching top players. “You don’t create a top league just like that. In England it was created 150 years ago and we still struggle.
“But China has moved forward. It tries to promote football and I’m happy that football has become popular in China. I also expect India to come to the game too you know. I hope it will happen,” the Frenchman added.
The game in India has transformed in the past few years with high-profile international footballers participating in the franchise-based Indian Super League. Wenger, however, said that China or even India should not expect immediate success.
“It’s a slow process of creating a football culture. You are educated as a little boy by your parents about football and that goes through the next generations. And that takes time to be a really big part of the population,” said Wenger.