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January 3, 2017

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SIPG fans cheer as Oscar arrives

BRAZILIAN international midfielder Oscar was cheered by supporters of his new Shanghai club yesterday where some media reports said he would earn nearly US$500,000 a week, making him the highest-paid player in the world.

Financial details of Oscar’s transfer to Shanghai SIPG from English Premier League club Chelsea have not been released, but media reports have suggested SIPG paid 60 million euros (US$62.6 million) to lure the 25-year-old to the Chinese Super League.

Fans wearing the team’s red and white colors shouted “Oscar, Oscar!” when the Brazilian arrived at Pudong International Airport yesterday. He stopped to sign autographs before being led away by team officials.

“I think it will definitely enhance the team’s capabilities,” Shao Lei, a 30-year-old SIPG supporter, said of the latest Brazilian to sign for the Shanghai club.

The figures cited in British media reports would make Oscar the world’s highest paid player at about 400,000 pounds a week (US$490,760).

However, he could be eclipsed by Carlos Tevez when the Argentine signs a huge contract with crosstown rival Shanghai Greenland Shenhua that could earn the striker 615,000 pounds a week, according to media reports.

SIPG finished third in the 2016 CSL season, which ran from March to the end of October, 12 points behind champion Guangzhou Evergrande and five behind second-placed Jiangsu Suning.

Oscar will link up with compatriots Hulk and Elkeson who are already plying their trade at SIPG, led by former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas.

Meanwhile, China’s buying binge continued into the New Year with Tianjin Quanjian FC luring Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel away from Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia with an 18-million euro annual pay packet, Belgian media reported yesterday.

Over the four-year deal Witsel, 28, will pocket 72 million euros in salary at the club coached by Italian former World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro, the 2006 world player of the year. Cannavaro has already coached Evergrande in China.

Witsel joins the second-tier club in northeastern China with immediate effect, Belgian TV station RTBF said on its internet page.


 

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