Bartel was the first, but he definitely wouldn't be the last.
Those on the front lines are the first to feel the chill. The new CBA season hadn't started yet, so its players hadn't felt the immediate impact of commercialization.
But things were different in the world of football.
The Chinese Super League was in full swing, and the policy allowing five foreign players was already having a tangible effect on some people.
On May 22nd, after the tenth round of the Chinese Super League, the league entered a 40-day hiatus.
During these 40 days, the men's National Team was scheduled to play several international A-Level matches to earn more FIFA ranking points for the AFC Asian Cup qualifying draw.
Just as Bartel was blasting the league's commercial reforms and his imminent unemployment, someone else was feeling the exact same way.
Shen Hua's forward, Zhang Yuning.
