The 2021 Chinese Super League, officially known as the 2021 Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League () for sponsorship reasons, was the 18th season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League. The league title sponsor is Ping An Insurance.
Jiangsu were the defending champions, but they folded on 28 February 2021, and were disqualified by the Chinese Football Association on 29 March 2021.
Club changes Clubs promoted from 2020 China League One Changchun Yatai
Dissolved entries Jiangsu (Jiangsu Suning)
Changchun Yatai returns to the division after a 2-year absence. Cangzhou Mighty Lions were reprieved from relegation after finishing bottom in the previous season due to the dissolution of Jiangsu.
Name changes
In December 2020, the CFA issued a policy to "neutralize" the names of all professional football clubs. Club names cannot contain any term of a sponsorship or commercial nature, and non-Chinese characters cannot be used. Most Chinese football clubs had to be renamed. There were some debates as to whether or not some long-existing club names, for example, "Shandong Taishan" and "Beijing Guoan", were acceptable. After Henan Jianye was renamed to "Henan Luoyang Longmen", club fans protested in front of the club stadium. Some clubs, including the 2020 Chinese Super League winner Jiangsu, China League One team Beijing Chengfeng and China League Two team Yancheng Luzhiying, dissolved subsequent to their renaming.
Current name Previous name Date changed Ref.Guangzhou CityGuangzhou R&FDecember 2020GuangzhouGuangzhou Evergrande TaobaoJanuary 2021Shandong TaishanShandong Luneng TaishanJanuary 2021Shanghai PortShanghai SIPGJanuary 2021Cangzhou Mighty LionsShijiazhuang Ever BrightJanuary 2021Tianjin Jinmen TigerTianjin TEDAJanuary 2021QingdaoQingdao HuanghaiFebruary 2021Shanghai ShenhuaShanghai Greenland ShenhuaFebruary 2021HebeiHebei China FortuneFebruary 2021WuhanWuhan ZallFebruary 2021Henan Songshan LongmenHenan JianyeFebruary 2021Chongqing Liangjiang AthleticChongqing Dangdai LifanMarch 2021Beijing GuoanBeijing Sinobo GuoanMarch 2021JiangsuJiangsu SuningFebruary 2021
Rule changes The CFA imposed a salary cap on the Super League in December 2020, taking effect with the 2021 season. Each club's total player wages are capped at ¥600 million, with a separate limit of €10 million for foreign players. Individual player salaries are also capped, at ¥5 million before tax for Chinese players, and €3 million for foreign players.
Clubs
Personnel and stadiums
Team Head coach City Stadium Capacity 2020 season Guangzhou Zheng Zhi (player/manager) Guangzhou Tianhe Stadium 54,8562nd Beijing Guoan Slaven Bilić Beijing Workers' Stadium 66,1613rd Shanghai Port Ivan Leko Shanghai Yuanshen Sports Centre Stadium 16,0004th Shandong Taishan Hao Wei Jinan Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium 56,8085th Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic Chang Woe-ryong Chongqing Chongqing Olympic Sports Center 58,6806th Shanghai Shenhua Mao Yijun (caretaker) Shanghai Hongkou Football Stadium 33,0607th Hebei Kim Jong-boo Langfang Langfang Stadium 30,0408th Henan Songshan Longmen Antonio Gómez-Carreño Escalona (caretaker) Zhengzhou Hanghai Stadium 29,8609th Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Yu Genwei Tianjin Tianjin Olympic Centre 54,69610th Guangzhou City Jean-Paul van Gastel Guangzhou Yuexiushan Stadium 18,00011th Dalian Pro José González Dalian Dalian Sports Centre Stadium 60,83212th Shenzhen Zhang Xiaorui (caretaker) Shenzhen Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre 60,33413th Qingdao Yang Weijian (caretaker) Qingdao Conson Stadium 45,00014th Wuhan Li Jinyu Wuhan Wuhan Five Rings Sports Center 30,00015th (Relegation play-offs winner) Changchun Yatai Chen Yang Changchun Changchun Stadium 41,638CL1, 1st Cangzhou Mighty Lions Svetozar Šapurić Cangzhou Cangzhou Stadium 31,83616th
Locations
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointment Guangzhou City Giovanni van Bronckhorst Mutual consent 3 December 2020 Pre-season Jean-Paul van Gastel 22 February 2021 Wuhan Pang Li (caretaker) End of caretaker spell 27 December 2020 Li Xiaopeng 27 December 2020 Shanghai Port Vítor PereiraMutual consent 31 December 2020 Ivan Leko 1 January 2021 Beijing Guoan Bruno Génésio 6 January 2021 Slaven Bilić 6 January 2021 Dalian Pro Rafael Benítez 23 January 2021 José González 18 April 2021 Hebei Xie Feng 28 March 2021 Kim Jong-boo 28 March 2021 Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Wang Baoshan 31 March 2021 Yu Genwei 31 March 2021 Shenzhen Jordi Cruyff Signed by Barcelona 3 June 2021 7th José Carlos Granero 3 June 2021 Shanghai Shenhua Choi Kang-hee Resigned 7 August 2021 9th Mao Yijun (caretaker) 7 August 2021 Cangzhou Mighty Lions Afshin GhotbiMutual consent 6 September 2021 13th Liu Yan (caretaker) 6 September 2021 Guangzhou Fabio Cannavaro 28 September 2021 2nd Zheng Zhi (player/manager) 7 December 2021 Henan Songshan Longmen Javier Pereira 7 October 2021 10th Antonio Gómez-Carreño Escalona (caretaker) 7 October 2021 Cangzhou Mighty Lions Liu Yan (caretaker) End of caretaker spell 5 November 2021 13th Svetozar Šapurić 5 November 2021 Wuhan Li Xiaopeng Signed by China 3 December 2021 11th Li Jinyu 4 December 2021 Qingdao Wu Jingui Resigned 13 December 2021 16th Yang Weijian (caretaker) 13 December 2021 Shenzhen José Carlos Granero End of contract 31 December 2021 5th Zhang Xiaorui (caretaker) 31 December 2021
Foreign players Players name in bold indicates the players that were registered during the mid-season transfer window. Players name in ITALICS indicates the players that left their respective clubs during the mid-season transfer window.
TeamPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Naturalized playersHong Kong/Macau/Taiwan PlayersFormer players Beijing Guoan Anderson Silva → Nico Yennaris→ John Hou Sæter Fernando Lucas Souza Renato Augusto Cédric Bakambu Kim Min-jae Jonathan Viera Cangzhou Mighty Lions Oscar Maritu André Senghor Stoppila Sunzu Muriqui Adama Diomande Odil Ahmedov Changchun Yatai Erik Júnior Negrão Serginho Jores Okore Chen Po-liang Lucas Souza Richairo Živković Aaron Samuel Olanare Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic Fernandinho Miller Bolaños Dostonbek Tursunov Marcelo Cirino Marcinho Dalian Pro Emmanuel Boateng Marcus Danielson Sam Larsson Jailson Salomón Rondón Guangzhou → Tyias Browning→ Alan→ Aloísio→ Elkeson Fernandinho Paulinho Ricardo Goulart Talisca Guangzhou City Mousa Dembélé Guilherme Tiago Leonço Jown Cardona Tan Chun Lok Gustav Svensson Hebei Samir Memišević Leonardo Ole Selnæs João Silva Marcão Paulinho→ Chen Jiayu Henan Songshan Longmen Toni Šunjić Fernando Karanga Henrique Dourado Ivo Mohamed Buya Turay Tim Chow Qingdao Dejan Radonjić Romain Alessandrini Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu Jagoš Vuković Fredrik Ulvestad Denis Popović Shandong Taishan Marouane Fellaini Jadson Moisés Son Jun-ho → Pedro Delgado Leonardo Róger Guedes Shanghai Port Aaron Mooy Oscar Paulinho Ricardo Lopes Ante Majstorović Marko Arnautović Shanghai Shenhua Christian Bassogog Giovanni Moreno Matej Jonjić Lonsana Doumbouya Adrian Mierzejewski → Alexander N'Doumbou→ Denny Wang Kim Shin-wook Shenzhen Alan Kardec Juan Fernando Quintero Frank Acheampong Mubarak Wakaso Morteza Pouraliganji Dai Wai Tsun Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Magno Cruz Jules Iloki Tamás Kádár Marko Vejinović Wuhan Anderson Lopes Rafael Silva Léo Baptistão Stéphane Mbia Jean Evrard Kouassi Yoann Arquin Daniel Carriço For Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwanese players, if they are non-naturalized and were registered as professional footballers in Hong Kong's, Macau's, or Chinese Taipei's football association for the first time, they are recognized as native players. Otherwise they are recognized as foreign players. Naturalized players whose parents or grandparents were born in Mainland China, thus are regarded as local players.
Neutral grounds for 2021 season Guangzhou stadia Tianhe Stadium Yuexiushan Stadium Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center Central Stadium Huadu Stadium
Suzhou stadia Kunshan Sports Centre Stadium Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Outer Field Suzhou Sports Center Jiangyin Sports Centre
Regular season
Group A (Guangzhou stadia)
League table
Results
Positions by round
Results by match played
Group B (Suzhou stadia)
League table
Results
Positions by round
Results by match played
Championship stage
League table
Results
Positions by round
Results by match played
Relegation stage
League table
Results
Positions by round
Results by match played
Relegation play-offs
Overview
Matches
Chengdu Rongcheng won 2–1 on aggregate.
Chengdu Rongcheng were promoted to the Chinese Super League: Dailan Pro were to be directly relegated to the 2022 Chinese League One, but were repreived after Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic and Qingdao both folded.
Zhejiang won 1–0 on aggregate.
Zhejiang were promoted to the Chinese Super League: Qingdao were to be directly relegated to the 2022 Chinese League One, but Qingdao folded.
Statistics
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Júnior NegrãoChangchun Yatai142 Alan KardecShenzhen11 ElkesonGuangzhou4 Marouane FellainiShandong Taishan10 Guo Tianyu Zhang YuningBeijing Guoan7 Henrique DouradoHenan Songshan Longmen88 Anderson LopesWuhan7 ErikChangchun Yatai Ricardo GoulartGuangzhou Tiago LeonçoGuangzhou City Lü WenjunShanghai Port Jown CardonaGuangzhou City Oscar MarituCangzhou Mighty Lions
Top assists
RankPlayerClubAssists1 OscarShanghai Port112 Juan Fernando QuinteroShenzhen73 Yan DinghaoGuangzhou6 Son Jun-hoShandong Taishan5 GuilhermeGuangzhou City5 AlanGuangzhou Deng Hanwen Liu BinbinShandong Taishan9 PaulinhoHebei / Shanghai Port4 Christian BassogogShanghai Shenhua Gao TianyiBeijing Guoan Huang XiyangChongqing Liangjiang Athletic Qi TianyuShandong Taishan Tan LongChangchun Yatai Xie PengfeiCangzhou Mighty Lions
Hat-tricks
PlayerClubAgainst ResultDateSource Marko ArnautovićShanghai PortTianjin Jinmen Tiger6–1 (A) Ricardo GoulartGuangzhouCangzhou Mighty Lions5–2 (H) ElkesonGuangzhouQingdao5–0 (H) Notes (H) – Home team (A) – Away team
Awards Players of the Round The following players were named the Players of the Round. RoundPlayerClubReference Giovanni MorenoShanghai Shenhua Marouane FellainiShandong Taishan Zhang XizheBeijing Guoan Tyias BrowningGuangzhouVacantVacant Zhao MingjianShanghai Shenhua Tan LongChangchun Yatai Zhang YuningBeijing Guoan Yang LiyuGuangzhou Guo TianyuShandong Taishan Duan LiuyuShandong Taishan Marouane FellainiShandong Taishan Shi YanTianjin Jinmen Tiger Guo TianyuShandong Taishan OscarShanghai Port Son Jun-hoShandong Taishan Son Jun-hoShandong Taishan Henrique DouradoHenan Songshan Longmen Marouane FellainiShandong Taishan Tan KaiyuanGuangzhou Zheng ZhiGuangzhou Xie WeijunTianjin Jinmen Tiger
Annual awards Award Winner Club Ref. Chinese Super League Top Scorer Júnior Negrão Changchun Yatai F.C.
Chinese football awards Award Winner Club Ref.Chinese Golden Ball Wu Lei RCD Espanyol Chinese Women's Golden Ball Wang Shuang Wuhan Jianghan University Chinese Golden Boy Zhu Chenjie Shanghai Shenhua F.C. Chinese Golden Coach Hao Wei Shandong Taishan F.C. Team of the Year Goalkeeper Han Jiaqi(Guangzhou City) Defenders Yu Hai(Shanghai Port) Jiang Guangtai(Guangzhou) Zheng Zheng(Shandong Taishan) Midfielders Son Jun-ho(Shandong Taishan) Oscar(Shanghai Port) Marouane Fellaini(Shandong Taishan) Xu Xin(Shandong Taishan) Forwards Zhang Yuning(Beijing Guoan) Guo Tianyu(Shandong Taishan) Júnior Negrão(Changchun Yatai)
League attendance + Attendance RoundTotalMatches opened to spectatorsAvg. Per GameRound 142,69945,337Round 217,29472,162Round 351,73966,467Round 4Round 5Round 6Round 7Round 8Round 9Round 10Round 11Round 12Round 13Round 14Round 15Round 16Round 17Round 18Round 19Round 20Round 21Round 22Total111,732174,656
Notes
References
External links Current CSL table, and recent results/fixtures at Soccerway