Is Vietnamese Football Burning Money on Meaningless Transfers?

Look at the number 500 billion VND. That is the total transfer spending of V.League 1 clubs during the recent summer transfer window. A record number, but the question is: what are we building with that money? I have followed Vietnamese football since I was a child watching matches on dirt fields, and I have never seen such a spending boom accompanied by such a lack of clear direction.

The Vietnamese football community is celebrating. High-profile contracts with foreign players from Brazil, South Korea, and Europe are being announced continuously. Wealthy clubs like Cong An Ha Noi and Thep Xanh Nam Dinh are recruiting the biggest names. Fans are excited, media is praising, and sponsors are lining up to sign contracts. But I see a much deeper problem.

The truth is, we are repeating exactly the mistake that Chinese football made 5 years ago. I lived in Beijing and witnessed firsthand the collapse of that massive spending dream. Guangzhou Evergrande once spent 42 million euros on Jackson Martinez, and what was the result? A striker who scored just 4 goals in 15 matches before being loaned out. They burned money on meaninglessness, and now, I see the same thing happening in Vietnam.

Look at the structure of these contracts. The average salary of a quality foreign player in V.League 1 has increased by 40% compared to last season. Clubs are paying 15,000 to 20,000 dollars per month for players they hope will make a difference. But my question is: are these players truly suited to the team's playing style, or are they just names to sell tickets and please the board of directors?

I have had late-night calls with scouts and assistant coaches in Vietnam. They told me about training sessions where foreign players could not understand the tactical requirements of local coaches. They told me about contracts signed based on YouTube highlight videos rather than direct scouting. And they told me about the fear that these investments will never yield returns.

What the community is getting wrong is: they believe that big spending will automatically bring success. But football does not work that way. I witnessed this in China, where teams spent hundreds of millions of dollars but still failed on the continental stage. I witnessed this in Saudi Arabia, where they are buying aging stars to beautify their league. And now I am seeing it in Vietnam.

Look at Thep Xanh Nam Dinh, a club that is recruiting the most expensive foreign players in their history. Do they have a long-term plan? Or are they just trying to buy happiness for fans after a disappointing season? I called a source close to the club's management, and the answer I received was: "We need to compete immediately." That is exactly the problem. Impatience is killing sustainable development.

Where could I be wrong? Maybe these contracts will succeed. Maybe these foreign players will adapt quickly to the Vietnamese football environment and make an immediate difference. Maybe the clubs have done their homework and I am only looking at the surface. But based on my experience following matches in China, Thailand, and Malaysia, I know that hastily made transfers often end in failure.

Look at the success rate of foreign players in V.League 1 over the past 5 years. Only about 30% of them truly met expectations. The other 30% are failed contracts, players released mid-season, and enormous amounts of money burned. So why do we keep repeating this mistake?

The answer lies in the structure of Vietnamese football. Clubs do not have enough resources to build effective youth training systems. They do not have enough scouts to find domestic rough diamonds. And they do not have enough patience to develop young players. Instead, they choose the easy path: buying foreign players. That is a short-term solution to a long-term problem.

I remember the night of June 27, 2026, when I predicted South Korea would beat Germany 2-0 at the World Cup. People thought I was crazy. But I saw what they did not see: the slowness in transition of the German defense. Now, I see the same thing in Vietnamese football: the lack of preparation for the future. Clubs are spending as if there is no tomorrow, but they are not building anything for the day after.

Guangzhou does not lack money, they lack a reason to exist. And I fear that the same thing is happening to some clubs in Vietnam. They have money, they have ambition, but they lack a clear plan. They are chasing flashy contracts instead of building a solid foundation.

I am not saying that all contracts are mistakes. There are clubs doing it right, like Ha Noi FC with their philosophy of developing young players. But they are being left behind in the spending race. And that is a bigger problem: when wealthy clubs overspend, they create an arms race that smart strategic clubs cannot keep up with.

So what happens next? I predict that within the next 2 years, we will witness a wave of contract terminations. Clubs will realize they cannot sustain this level of spending, and they will try to escape expensive contracts. That will create chaos in the transfer market, and clubs with solid financial foundations will benefit.

But there is a glimmer of hope. I have seen signs of change. Some clubs are starting to invest in youth academies. They are building facilities, hiring good coaches, and creating a development pathway for young players. That is the right path, and I hope more and more clubs will follow that direction.

Empty stands, but the late-night calls of football addicts have never stopped. Vietnamese fans deserve a sustainably developing league, not a league chasing flashy contracts. They deserve teams built on solid foundations, not teams that collapse after a season of overspending.

I will continue to watch, continue to make late-night calls, and continue to ask hard questions. Because football does not deceive anyone. Only people deceive themselves. And I do not want to witness Vietnamese football deceiving itself one more time.