Zhu Jun
Born (1966-10-07) 7 October 1966
Shanghai, China
NationalitySingaporean
Occupation(s)founder of The9, Ltd.
selected chairman of the Shanghai Shenhua football club

Jun Zhu (Chinese: 朱骏), (born 7 October 1966) is a Chinese-born Singaporean[1] industrialist and businessman and the Chairman of Nasdaq listed company the Nine City (NASDAQ: NCTY). He is also known for his chairmanship of Shanghai Shenhua football club.

Early life

Zhu was born in Shanghai and attended Shanghai Jiaotong University. He dropped out of the university after two years. He moved to the United States in 1993.

The9

In 1999, Zhu founded online gaming company The9 Ltd,[2] which was successful and listed on the NASDAQ exchange in 2004.[3] The company is the source of his wealth.

Shanghai Zobon

He purchased Shanghai Zobon football club from businessman Wei Ping in 2005. On 21 December 2005, most players on the team went to the headquarters of Zhu Jun's company to request the wages he failed to pay.[4]

Shanghai Shenhua

Zhu purchased a controlling 28.5% stake in Chinese Super League football club Shanghai Shenhua in 2007. Five state-owned enterprises hold the remainder but reportedly agreed to up Zhu's stake to 70% after two years if he invested US$23.6 million.[5]

As chairman, Zhu Jun is known for his bizarre management style at the club, including interfering with the team management and a lack of respect for his employees. In August 2007, he even forced the manager to name him in the squad of Shanghai Shenhua for a game against the English club Liverpool F.C.[6]

In the 2011 season, with cash apparently running short, Zhu Jun decided to sell most players in the squad including the top goal scorer Duvier Riascos, Du Wei and Gao Lin, causing the team to free-fall in the league. On 17 August 2011, angry fans in the stands of Hongkou Stadium demanded that Zhu Jun leave the club. Shortly afterwards, the club reacted by declaring that the club considered moving the team out of Shanghai, which further infuriated supporters.[7]

In April 2012 he sacked all the coaches assisting manager Jean Tigana just after five matches in the league, aiming to force Jean Tigana to resign.[8] It has been suggested that this is part of a strategy to sign big-name players and managers, promising wages that were beyond his financial capability. In doing so he managed to attract attention, which helped to promote his own business. Subsequently, he found excuses to fire them and tried to avoid the payment of wages. He paid a few local media to provide supportive comment.

In 2012, the club signed former Chelsea players Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba.[9] At the end of season both stars left because of the delay of payment of the wage.

In April 2013, Zhu again delayed the payment of the wages of players causing three South American players including Giovanni Moreno, Rolando Schiavi and Patricio Toranzo to strike. Three players decline to play a home league game against Liaoning Hongyun.[10] Eventually in July 2013, manager Sergio Batista resigned because he had not received his wage for four months.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SCHEDULE 13G (AMENDMENT NO.4)". SEC. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "Company Overview". the9. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  3. ↑ "The9 Limited Announces Receipt of Nasdaq Notice of Deficiency". PR Newswire. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  4. ↑ 网易. "中国足球"民工"讨薪史:国际名帅上央视诉苦_网易体育". sports.163.com. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  5. ↑ Shanghai Shenhua could sell Drogba, Anelka, South China Morning Post, 28 August 2012
  6. ↑ sports.sina.com.cn, 4 Aug 2012 (in Chinese)
  7. ↑ sports.163.com, 22 May 2012 (in Chinese)
  8. ↑ sports.sina.com.cn, 11 Apr 2012 (in Chinese)
  9. ↑ Drogba Will Join Shanghai Shenhua For $15.2 Million, Xinmin Says, Bloomberg, 17 June 2012
  10. ↑ 网易 (31 March 2013). "申花三外援便装虹口看球 欠薪缺赛传闻得到证实". sports.163.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  11. ↑ 网易 (4 July 2013). "申花密谋逼巴蒂斯塔下课已久 拖欠4个月薪水不发". sports.163.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
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