Besides the three South American players - Moreno, Schiavi and Toranzo - Shenhua coach Batista also said that he had not been paid for months as well.
"I haven't been paid for several months, but as the coach of the team, I have to stick here," Batista told reporters before the match. "I hope every player here can keep up their spirit and play well."
Batista hoped the problem would be resolved so that he could field the players in the key game against Shandong Luneng next week.
"I'm waiting for the club to solve the problem so that the players can play and I know that the club is working on it," he added.
"If we settle things by next week, we'll be better prepared for the Shandong game. For the fans and for the club, I hope the problem is solved next week."
Besides owing salaries to the players and the coach, Shenhua also has to pay a fine of 1 million yuan to the Chinese Football Association for manipulating the outcome of a match in 2003.
Elsewhere, Shanghai East Asia enjoyed its first win in CSL yesterday after beating Changchun Yatai 2-0 at home.
The city's third team in the league, Shanghai Shenxin, tied 1-1 with Liaoning Whowin on Saturday. East Asia climbed to seventh while Shenxin stayed in the 11th place.
Our luxuriously departed Paper-made "luxury" goods replace paper money as top offerings to the dead during Qingming