Hammam backs Asian clubs to compete with Europe in transfer market

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohamed bin Hammam is convinced the region's biggest clubs will soon be able to compete with Europe for the world's top talent.

"If clubs in Europe will pay $50 million for their players, we will do the same," Hammam told Reuters. "We just have to raise the standard and players will come. My dream is that we are as competitive as Europe in standard and revenue. I'm certain this will happen."

Hammam accused European clubs of simply recruiting Asian players to get a foothold in lucrative Far Eastern markets.

However, he said Asian sides might soon be doing the same thing.

"They don't recruit Asian players in the same way they do Africans. They're trying to create stars and get a share of their markets. This is the case with most of our players in Europe," he said. "But we can take from the markets in Europe. They can take from us, but we will take from them also."