BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Super League side Hebei FC is struggling desperately for survival, said one of its players.
The Langfang-based club, which once shelled out for Javier Mascherano and Ezequiel Lavezzi, has ceased office operations and suspended training of four of its youth teams due to financial difficulties in October.
Lei Tenglong, who joined the Hebei side early this year, conceded that the club is mired in serious trouble.
"At the time of my arrival, the club told me that its financial situation was rather grim. Now it has become much more difficult, struggling to sustain the club's daily operations," said the 30-year-old central defender.
He urged government to step in soon to save the club.
"As things are becoming very hard for all of us, we hope government can expedite the process to help the club. We players cannot wait indefinitely," he said.
As the Chinese Super League campaign has been suspended to free up national team players to play the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Hebei FC senior team players are on vacation after their exit from the Chinese FA Cup tournament earlier last month.
"The players have been taking holidays since, and in order to maintain fitness we need to train on our own. We have no idea when our holidays will end," he said. Enditem
