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February 23, 2016

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Cahill: From Greenland to Greentown

FORMER Shanghai Greenland Shenhua midfielder Tim Cahill has extended his stay in China after reaching a six-month deal with rival Chinese Super League side Hangzhou Greentown, the club announced yesterday.

Shenhua ended its contract with the Australian star last week after the club’s new head coach Gregorio Manzano suggested that the 36-year-old was not in his plans for the 2016 campaign.

The decision came three months after Cahill extended his contract with Shenhua. Having settled down well in Shanghai, Cahill decided to spend some more time in China before planning for the next stage of his career. His new club is based in Hangzhou, the capital of neighboring Zhejiang Province.

“Thank you to my new football club Hangzhou Greentown and the president for giving me the opportunity to do what I love and that is to play football,” Cahill wrote on his official Weibo account. “To the fans and my new teammates I’m so excited and can’t wait to get started.”

Cahill’s sudden departure was emotional not just for Shanghai fans but for the former Everton player as well, as he claimed to be the kind of player that “plays to stay”.

The Australian posted some pictures of himself packing at Shenhua’s Kangqiao training base on Sunday, saying: “It’s now a reality cause I had to go and clear my things from the Shenhua training ground. Thank you to everyone at the club for their support”.

Greentown finished 11th in the 16-team CSL last season, and named former South Korea national team manager Hong Myung-bo as its new head coach at the end of last year.

Hangzhou-based Youth Times earlier cited club vice president Wu Shaokun as saying that Greentown would not be able to afford Cahill’s annual salary of US$3 million unless he took a salary cut. Xinhua reported that an injury to Greentown’s Brazil striker Anselmo Ramo forced the club into a U-turn, bringing in Cahill, who scored 11 goals in 28 games for Shenhua.


 

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