BEIJING, July 8 -- With his career threatened by a foot injury, basketball superstar Yao Ming may be looking to open a new chapter in his life - as one of the owners of his old team, the Shanghai Sharks. Sharks coach Li Qiuping reportedly said yesterday that the local native is in talks with the Shanghai Sports Bureau to invest 20 million yuan (US$2.9 million) to save his former team from a financial crisis that could force it out of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Li told Sohu.com, a major Chinese Web portal, that Team Yao, the group that manages the NBA star's career, is now in negotiations over the purchase of the local team.

Houston Rockets' Yao Ming, of China, looks up against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, California, April 3, 2009

The Sharks are owned by Shanghai Media Group, Hongqiao Airport and Shanghai Technical Sports Institute, which is under the control of the sports bureau.

Li said, however, that a purchase contract has not yet been signed and that other investors may also be involved.

Erik Zhang, the head of Team Yao, told the Website Sina.com that it was "not the right time to talk about the purchase." And the Website of the 2.26-meter center carried no word on a possible deal.

Yao was the Sharks' center for nine years, leading it to the top of the CBA in 2002, the team's only championship since it joined the league in 1996.

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