But while the $790 billion (£547 billion/€700 billion) estimation of what the country’s sports market will be worth in 2025 was the gob-smacking figure in the Principality, talk over the potential of the Chinese Super League (CSL) put journalists' pens to paper in the Southeast Asia city state.

Hang Yu, vice-president of strategy at Le Sports who featured on a panel at SPORTELAsia entitled "China: What next?", went as far to say that the CSL could be among the top five leagues in the world by 2021 along with the English Premier League, France’s Ligue 1, Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A.

Last month, Le Sports signed a strategic partnership agreement with events broadcast firm China Sports Media, giving the sports arm of LeEco Holdings Ltd exclusive global broadcast rights to the CSL for the next five seasons.

In a deal worth £292 million ($422 million/€374 million), officials claimed the latest broadcast technologies would be used, including virtual reality, which it is hoped will result in a significant rise in overseas viewers for China's top football league.

Lei Zhenjian, Le Sports' chief executive, revealed the company is also planning to charge viewers for CSL games from 2018, something which Yu believes will ensure the investment pays dividends.

"For paywall in China, you need the right timing, the right property," he told Singaporean newspaper TODAY.

"CSL is the most valuable property in China.

"Outside China it is also popular, even in Singapore.

"We see this as a very good opportunity to develop something different.

"That is why we are investing so much."

But will it be worth it?

One thing for sure is the CSL is attracting big-name players from some of Europe’s elite clubs with the league’s expenditure ahead of the current season reaching $300 million (£208 million/€266 million) - exceeding the Premier League's outlay of $275 million (£191 million/€244 million).  

A £20 million ($28.8 million/€25.6 million) plus deal saw Brazilian footballer Ramires go from Chelsea to Jiangsu Suning, the club that outbid Liverpool in their efforts to land Shakhtar Donetsk’s Alex Teixeira.

It took a Chinese record fee of €50 million (£39 million/$56.4 million) to prize the Brazilian star away from the Ukrainian giants with a lower spend of €42 million (£32.8 million/$47.3 million) ensuring the transfer of Jackson Martínez from Chinese-owned Atlético Madrid to Guangzhou Evergrande.

Attendances at CSL games also provide reason to suggest that the buzz won’t just be a flash in the pan, with research showing that they are starting to match Europe’s top leagues in the same way that those in the United States’ Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Indian Super League are too.

The total attendance for the seven games that formed the first round of CSL matches this season reached 180,000, according to the box office.

The eye-catching signings certainly drew in the crowds and also delivered the goods on the pitch with 15 of the 16 goals being scored by foreign imports.

PJ Roberts, vice-president of sales at market research and business ­advisory services firm Repucom, believes preserving the hype for the fans will be pivotal to the CSL’s long-term success.

"Obviously the Government’s ­focus on growing football and sports participation is very much a national interest," he told TODAY.

"But what’s surprising is to see how quickly that has reflected into direct investment.

"But they’re in a wonderful posi­tion where they can promote and drive [the sport].

"It needs to be managed carefully.

"We’ve seen that in a number of European clubs where they had significant investment in players and saw the financial implications of that.

"The investment of funds needs to be managed, and what’s important is the sustainability of the league.

"But long may the Chinese continue and challenge their European rivals."

The appetite of the supporters may exist but the overall appeal of the CSL to broadcasters is still significantly less than that of the Premier League - certainly in terms of what they’re willing to pay for the rights to showcase it.

The CSL reportedly sold its broadcasting rights for the five years starting from 2016 for a record fee of CNY ¥8 billion, or $1.25 billion (£865 million/€1.1 billion).

Compare this to the new domestic Premier League deal for the three years from the start of next season - coming in at some $7.4 billion (£5.1 billion/€6.6 billion) - and it’s easy to see the disparity.

That’s not to mention the non-domestic markets in which it is likely to take years before the CSL even comes close to competing with the EPL.

Even La Liga, arguably the best league on the planet, is miles behind England’s top flight in this regard and was perhaps reflected in its strong presence at SPORTELAsia.

Flanked by 1998 FIFA World Cup winner Christian Karembeu and the Frenchman’s former Real Madrid team-mate Fernando Sanz, La Liga President Javier Tebas delivered a presentation which looked to demonstrate how, through its various projects, La Liga is meeting its objective of creating value and of taking itself to every corner of the world.

Despite having provided three of the last five UEFA Champions League winners - Barcelona in 2011 and 2015 and Real Madrid in 2014 - and the six FIFA Ballon d'Or winners since the awards inception in 2010 - four for Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and two for Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo - La Liga still has plenty of ground to make up.

Where the Premier League's broadcasting rights from 2016 to 2019 went for $7.4 billion, La Liga charged just $3.25 billion (£2.3 billion/€2.9 billion) for the same period. 

"The satisfaction of La Liga fans is the most important to us," Tebas said during his presentation.

"Through our plan, we hope to be able to bring La Liga closer to fans worldwide."

One key element of La Liga’s plan is introducing earlier kick-off times to accommodate audiences in Asia.

Last year, the 5pm kick-off - midnight in Singapore - was brought forward to 4.30pm.

Tebas said the kick-off will be a further half-an-hour earlier in the 2016-17 season and that there will also be kick-offs at midday and 1pm Spanish time at weekends.

Karembeu recognises that Spain’s top flight is behind the Premier League in terms of its global appeal but is hopeful La Liga can emulate or even better the success over time.

"We can see that the Premier League knows how to sell the product and we can see that everywhere in the world it’s well represented," he told insidethegames.

"For sure, La Liga could do the same and maybe better.

"We’re very, very fond of the Premier League because the standard is very high and very attractive and that’s why all the footballers want to go to England."

The challenges that La Liga is facing even now from a commercial perspective perhaps show just how far the CSL will have to come in a relatively short space of time if Yu’s estimation is to come to fruition.

There’s no doubting that the spending power is there, but until one of football’s truly great stars makes the move from Europe to China - specifically when they’re in their prime - it’s difficult to see how Europe’s undeniable status as the hotbed for the world’s best talent can be challenged.

The CSL will almost inevitably provide another option for top European players coming to the end of their careers, as the MLS has in recent times.

However, it will take a lot more than that to really establish itself among the beautiful game’s upper echelons.