The exorbitant fees that the Chinese Super League has been willing to pay to land the world’s best look like peanuts compared to what one unnamed CSL club was willing to pay Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo to bring the Ballon d’Or winner to East Asia.
News of Carlos Tevez perhaps becoming the highest paid footballer on the planet by earning nearly $40 million with Shanghai Shenhua ($1.25 per second) was unfathomable. That kind of total, when dissected and attempted to be understood, is like standing on the beach and trying to fathom all the individual grains of sand or staring up at the night sky and quantifying your place in the universe.
After Real Madrid’s 4-2 victory over Kashima Antlers in the FIFA Club World Cup Final, you would think everyone would be talking about Madrid’s amazing year that included three international titles. Nope. All the attention shifted to James Rodriguez’s post match comments saying that he couldn’t guarantee he would continue with Real Madrid and wanted to play more.
According to The Daily Mail, 32-year-old Argentine forward Carlos Tevez is set to become the world’s highest-paid player following a move to Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League.
Tevez follows in the footsteps of Oscar, Hulk and Graziano Pelle, all players that’ve swapped more traditional footballing climes for a personal jackpot in the CSL.
According to The Telegraph, Chelsea’s Brazilian attacker Oscar is on the verge of completing a historic transfer to Chinese Super League club Shanghai SIPG. SIPG made waves back in June by signing Hulk for a record fee of £47.5 millionNea, but Oscar looks set to join his fellow Brazilian and smash that record in the process.
FREE AGENT BABY.
These are maybe not the words you should be tweeting if you have just helped your new franchise to a very successful season and have therefore amassed a bit of good will from the fanbase. That is exactly what Jermaine Jones did following Colorado's 1-0 loss against Seattle Sunday, likely his last game with the Rapids.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic frequently plays at being a conquerer, emperor and god while discussing his career. He’s discussed how his favorite movie is Gladiator, because he feels that, like Maximus Decimus Meridius, he will have his vengeance, in this life or the next.
“That’s how I felt, or wanted to feel,” said Ibrahimovic in his book, I Am Zlatan. “I wanted to stand up to the whole world and show everybody who’d doubted me who I really was, and I couldn’t imagine anyone who’d be able to stop me.”
Believe it or not, this time it doesn’t seem to be a joke: Ronaldinho might be headed to the Major League Soccer.
Rumors have been flying around ever since the legendary midfielder became a free agent, but until now that was all they were: rumors.
The first bit of solid news on Ronaldinho’s future came in curious fashion, as Brazilian journalist Andre Hernan tweeted that the 2005 Balon d’Or winner wouldn’t be joining Brazilian side Sao Paulo.
Steven Gerrard, 36, made it clear at the beginning of 2016 that it would likely be his last year as a player. That statement is now on the verge of coming true.
His contract with the Galaxy is up, and he’s announced that his MLS career is over. Gerrard, the former captain of Liverpool, has always been a larger than life figure. He could always be counted on to deliver at clutch moments, but he’s also been hindered by a sporting egotism that often left supporters feeling let down.
Having scored more goals (126) at 23 than Cristiano Ronaldo (110), Luis Suarez (107) or Wayne Rooney (100), Romelu Lukaku has established himself as the world’s most complete young striker.