20 of the best foreign players to have played in the Chinese Super League

8 – Graziano Pelle

Pelle is among the highest-paid footballers in the world

Italian striker Graziano Pelle currently plies his trade at Chinese Super League club Shandong Luneng. The forward could’ve become a professional dancer, having won a national level under-12 ballroom dancing championship while partnered with his sister, but he chose to focus on football. He started his career at Lecce, for whom his father also played as a striker in Serie C. He was then loaned out to some lower league Italian clubs before making a permanent move to Dutch club AZ Alkmaar. After four years at AZ he moved to Parma, from where he was loaned to Sampdoria and then Feyenoord, where he went back on a permanent contract.

Pelle secured a move to Southampton in July 2014, where he was once again playing under his former coach Ronald Koeman. He scored 23 goals in two seasons with the club. The 31-year-old became the fifth highest paid footballer in the world on signing a contract with the club worth £13.5m per season. He has already scored 3 goals in his first 6 appearances for the club.