Chelsea's Oscar set to join Chinese club Shanghai SIPG
Chelsea mid-fielder Oscar is set to move to join the Chinese Super League club Shanghai SIPG in a record-breaking £60 million deal. The 25-year-old Brazilian player will leave Stamford Bridge at the beginning of the January transfer window. Oscar becomes the latest in series of top players in their prime to be lured in by the Chinese football league.
The Chinese Super League
With big money being pumped into China's football coupled with President Xi Jinping's love for the game, China has been hailed as the next global footballing destination. Chinese Super League, formed in 2004, is the country's top flight of football. Current champions are Guangzhou Evergrande which claimed the last 6 titles. Other big teams include Shandong Luneng, and Shanghai clubs SIPG and Shenhua.
Some of China's biggest transfers in 2016
Before Oscar, the Chinese Super League saw some huge signings. Some of them are: transfer of Brazilian player Hulk from St Petersburg to Shanghai at £48 million, Alex Teixeira from Shakhtar Donetsk to Jiangsu Suning at £42 million, Jackson Martinez from Atletico Madrid to Guangzhou Evergrande at £31 million, and Ramires from Chelsea to Jiangsu Suning at £25 million.
Oscar play under former Chelsea manager
At Shanghai SIPG, Oscar will play under the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Andres Villas-Boas.
Player profile: Oscar
Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Junior, born in 1991, is a Brazilian professional football player who plays at the midfield position. He made his professional debut in 2008 with Brazilian club Sao Paulo and moved to Internacional in 2010. He came to prominence after joining Chelsea in 2012 with whom he went on to win the Premier League, Europa League and League Cup.
Big name managers too part of Chinese football
It's not the players alone that are moving to China. The country's football league has also attracted some big name managers. World Cup winning Brazilian manager Luis Felipe Scolari is Guangzhou Evergrande's manager, ex-premier league manager Andres Villas-Boas manages Shanghai SIPG, former Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini joined Hebei China Fortune, and former Sunderland manager Gus Poyet took over as Shanghai Shenhua boss.
Carlos Tevez expected to move to China
Reportedly, Argentine footballer Carlos Tevez is considering joining Shanghai Shenhua. Tevez is being offered a a world record wage of £615,000 per week. This would make him the highest paid football player in the world.
