(From left to right) Guangzhou Evergrande striker Lucas Barrios and Shanghai Shenhua's Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka helped lift Chinese Super League's level as well as draw global attention to the sport in China. But how to deal with the foreign stars was a problem for some of the league's clubs.

Big-spending local clubs starting to draw top names to Chinese league, writes Tang Zhe.

Chinese clubs gained international recognition as they launched ambitious bids for foreign stars in 2012. However, the Chinese Super League, despite the generous contracts and enthusiastic fans, is yet to become a cozy destination for big-name imports.

Shanghai Shenhua was the most active club in the CSL throughout the year. It stole the limelight from the equally lavish Guangzhou Evergrande at the beginning of the year by signing former Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka. In the summer it again placed itself on center stage by bringing Cote d'Ivoire forward Didier Drogba, a teammate of Anelka in London, to China.

However, instead of a steady rise in the standings, Shenhua was embroiled in a long-term pay row and only managed to finish ninth in the league.

Zhu Jun, the biggest shareholder and the man who persuaded Drogba and Anelka to join Shenhua, threatened to withhold player wages and even leave the club, claiming the other five shareholders had reneged on an agreement to give him a majority stake in the club.

According to a Chinese website, if the dispute remains unresolved at the end of the year, Shenhua will give up all its big signings, including Anelka and Drogba, replace Argentine coach Sergio Batista with a local one and move its base from Shanghai for the 2013 season.

In December, Chinese coach Shen Xiangfu was named head of the club's Chinese coaching team to assist head coach Batista in the coming season. The 55-year-old moved into Anelka's room at Shenhua's training base after his arrival.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Frenchman Anelka has reached an agreement with the club which will allow him to terminate his contract. Drogba, who applied for permission in November to leave Shanghai on loan before the January transfer window - but was refused by FIFA, has also been linked with a move back to Europe.

CSL champion Evergrande faces similar problems as several of its foreign players want to terminate their contracts before they expire. Argentine midfielder Dario Conca, who broke the Chinese league's transfer record, appears the most anxious and Brazilian media said he threatened the club with retirement if he was not allowed to leave.

The potential loss of Conca would not be a huge blow to the defending champion's ambitions.