Chinese Super League Shows Intent as Oscar Signing Confirmed

Chelsea midfielder Oscar has completed his move to Chinese Super League outfit Shanghai SIPG. The CSL side declared in a statement that the Brazilian ”will arrive in China in the next few days to officially join SIPG”.

The move taking Oscar to Shanghai, which is worth a reported Chinese-record £52m, was first reported last week; the Brazilian declaring that a move was ”90% certain”. This transfer will be the fifth time the Chinese transfer record has been broken in a year, with high-profile stars such as Ramires, Jackson Martinez and Hulk having made the move East for record fees.

Oscar will reportedly command a wage of £400,000 per week during his spell in China, which would amount to around 4.5 times his salary while with Chelsea. Antonio Conte, manager of Chelsea, said last week that ”the Chinese market is a danger for all teams in the world, not only for Chelsea”.

The news of Oscar’s transfer comes as Boca Juniors striker Carlos Tevez is linked with a move to Shanghai Shenhua, for a reported world-record salary of £615,000 a week. Backed by President Xi Jinping, Chinese football has attempted aggressive growth in recent years: with substantial investment at both professional and grassroots level.