Salaries for domestic players would be capped at 5 million yuan, while those of foreign players cannot exceed €3 million, Xinhua said.

Clubs will be allowed to spend up to 600 million yuan per year on salaries, with a maximum of €10 million on foreign players, the report added.

Teams exceeding limits will be docked six to 24 points and players whose salaries exceed the cap will not be allowed to participate in matches organised by the CFA.

“CSL club expenditure is about 10 times higher than South Korea’s K-League and three times higher than Japan’s J-league. But our national team is lagging far behind,” CFA President Chen Xuyuan said.

“The bubbles not only affect the present of Chinese football, but also hurt its future.”

Spending limits have also been introduced for the second and third tiers.