5 Of the most famous players to move to the Chinese Super League

Modified Jan 08, 2020 10:56 GMT

Carlos Tevez's move to Shanghai Shenhua made him the world's highest-paid player

#2 Hulk

Hulk has been a huge success in China since his move to Shanghai SIPG

After plundering a tremendous amount of goals for FC Porto in Portugal’s Primeira Liga – 54 in 99 appearances, in fact – Brazilian forward Hulk was a player in demand in the mid-2010s. Europe’s giants were interested in bringing the player in, but instead, the summer of 2012 saw him make a move to Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg for a fee of €60m.

Hulk ended up playing for 4 seasons at Zenit, but when it was time to move on, rather than head to Italy, Spain or England, the Brazilian chose to move to the Chinese Super League – with money surely being one of his biggest motivations. Shanghai SIPG paid Zenit some £45m for his services – an Asian football record at the time – and handed him a wage packet of around £320k per week, giving him around £16.6m per year.

To his credit, Hulk has continued to perform excellently since his move to China, scoring a total of 68 goals in 121 games across all competitions for Shanghai SIPG and helping them to a league title in 2018 and a Chinese FA Super Cup in 2019. It’s a pity we never got to see the Brazilian at a top-level European club, but he’s had a great career nonetheless.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by Zaid Khan