Chinese Court Begins Liquidation of Former Guangzhou Evergrande

The legal process that could end the former Guangzhou Evergrande has formally begun in China. A court in Guangdong accepted a liquidation petition against Guangzhou FC, once one of the country's most successful football clubs.

The Intermediate People's Court of Guangzhou accepted the application from Guangzhou Zhonghang Service Management and appointed a liquidation team to manage the institution. Creditors have until Nov. 30 to report their claims, and the first creditors' meeting will take place on Dec. 8.

The move follows the club's failure to obtain a license for China's professional competitions at the beginning of 2025. Guangzhou FC could not raise enough money to settle its debts, leaving it close to disappearing even then.

The club reached its peak after the Evergrande property group acquired it in 2010. Under the Guangzhou Evergrande name, it won eight Chinese Super League titles and the Asian Champions League in 2013 and 2015. Its former players included Robinho, Paulinho, Jackson Martínez and Darío Conca, while Fabio Cannavaro and Luiz Felipe Scolari were among its coaches.

The club's decline tracked the crisis at Evergrande, which defaulted in 2021 after accumulating liabilities worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Guangzhou was relegated from the top division in 2022 and later tried to remain in the second tier before leaving professional football altogether.

The liquidation is part of a broader crisis in Chinese professional football. More than 30 clubs have disappeared since 2020 amid corruption cases and bankruptcies.