Stunning deals in the winter transfer window have made the football world sit up and take notice and the influx of foreign talents to China is unlikely to slow any time soon
Jackson Martinez, Atletico Madrid's landmark summer signing, decamped for Chinese Super League and AFC Champions League holders Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao on February 3 for some €42 million. That was quickly followed up by Jiangsu Suning’s axis-shifting €50m capture of Alex Teixeira from Shakhtar Donetsk ahead of Liverpool.
If the Martinez deal had a hint of damaged goods about it then the Teixeira transfer emphasised that Chinese clubs can now go toe-to-toe with elite European teams for the best players - and win. The football transfer order has been disrupted forever.
“A new reality is about to happen,” says Mads Davidsen, part of Sven Goran Eriksson's coaching staff at last season's runners-up Shanghai SIPG. “Things will never be the same again when Chinese clubs can not only compete with Europe but can beat clubs like Liverpool on the transfer market. Players like Alex Teixeira and Gervinho – a starting eleven player at Roma - want to play in China.”
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