With massive spending on foreign stars by Chinese soccer clubs impressing the world, insiders have called for more focus on the cultivation of young talent to breed the country's own counterparts of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Inspired by the country's ambition to invigorate the game of soccer, 16 Chinese Super League clubs splashed out about $410 million signing foreigners during the 2016-17 winter transfer window, making the CSL the biggest spender among the world's major leagues, according to German website transfermarkt.com.

However, the spending spree has triggered concerns at home.