SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean soccer league is the most successful in Asia, with its clubs winning a combined total of 10 continental championships, five more than any other country.
But the last title came in 2012, and a new end-of-season tradition is developing in its place. As soon as the last ball has been kicked, K-League clubs are becoming increasingly accustomed to dealing with wealthy Chinese rivals on the hunt for new players.
South Korean clubs are unable to compete financially with their newly rich counterparts in China. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao, owned by the property developers Evergrande and the founder of Alibaba, one of China’s biggest e-commerce companies, started the spending in 2010.