Has China the patience for world domination?

There was more than a hint of irony and football amnesia on display last month when Chelsea manager Antonio Conte warned how the Chinese Super League’s heavy-spending was a “danger for all”.

But the Italian wasn’t the only one to wag a finger.

A litany of high-profile figures from the world of football stepped forward to criticise while, simultaneously it seemed, airbrushing their own clubs’ history of domestic monopolies and extravagant purchases.