Atletico Madrid to open 200 stores in China

Atletico Madrid's Mario Mandzukic (L) celebrates with team-mates after scoring his team's fourth goal against Real Madrid during their Spanish first division soccer match at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid, February 7, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

MADRID - The Spanish sports paper 'Diario AS' reported on Tuesday that the reigning champions of the BBVA Primera Liga are going to open 200 retail outlets in China.

Such a move would give Atletico, who on Saturday defeated local rivals, Real Madrid 4-0 in the Vicente Calderon Stadium, a bigger presence in China than any other European club, including their illustrious neighbors, Real, FC Barcelona or English powerhouses such as Manchester United, Arsenal or Chelsea.

The Atletico stores would be opened in Wanda Malls, which are owned by Chinese businessman, Wang Jianlin.

Wang became one of the major shareholders in the Spanish club earlier this year when he bought 20 percent of Atletico' s shares.

The club views the stores as an important doorway into the Asian market. Atletico already have a co-operation signed with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua and trains a number of Chinese youngsters as part of the 'Project Wanda' scheme to help develop the next generation of Chinese footballers, while it is thought this summer will see Atletico include a tour of China in their plans for pre-season.