CHINESE naturalized player Luo Guofu said he was reluctant to ply his trade outside China, but he may have to do so if his contract issues cannot be sorted out.

The Brazilian-born player, also known as Aloisio Goncalves, won Chinese fans’ support for the fighting spirit he showed in the Chinese team’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

When he went back to his club Guangzhou FC from the national team commitments last week, he is facing the possibility of being unpaid for the remainder of the 2021 season.

“When I returned to Guangzhou, I had a talk with the club manager over the telephone,” he said.

“I told him that I was supposed to play as a professional player, and the club should do what it is supposed to do,” he said.

Guangzhou FC was left in trouble after its parent company China Evergrande Group was hit by financial crisis, and has allegedly failed to pay its players several months’ salaries.

Luo said he may have to look for chances at other clubs, including the foreign ones, if his salary issue cannot be solved,

“I will be saddened if I cannot continue to play football in China, as I have been here for a long time,” he said.

The second phase of the Chinese Super League (CSL) 2021 season started yesterday.

Luo joined Shandong Luneng in January 2014 and finished the next season as the top CSL scorer. (Xinhua)