They were transfers no one saw coming.
Granted, any football fan knows that the unexpected has become reality on numerous occasions, but the world's most popular sport still does not fail to throw supporters for a loop. But certainly, some of the moves during this winter's transfer market shocked even the most devoted and observant football aficionados - especially considering where these players chose as their next destination.
From Europe to the Far East: A shocking switch in the prime of his career...
On February 3rd, a few days after the European transfer window closed, striker Jackson Martinez was reported to have signed for Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande for a fee around €42 million, resulting in shockwaves sent through the footballing world. Although the ex-Porto man had struggled to find his goal-scoring boots in Spain with Atletico Madrid, he nonetheless was rumored to be the target of other European clubs, including Tottenham.
Still, after the initial shock had worn off, quite a few eyebrows were raised. Certainly, the transfer fee makes people sit up and take notice, but it is hardly the most mind-boggling number football followers have seen - just think of the kind of money spent on Gareth Bale or Neymar. And no, it is not that the Colombian attacker is the first European-based player to head east; after all, although the Chinese Super League is still relatively young - having been founded in 2004 - it already has managed to attract numerous players from outside China since its inception 12 years ago.
Rather it is the fact that at 29 years old, Martinez, despite his disappointing form in Spain, still has a few years of playing at the top level in his legs and could have been an asset to another team in Europe. And he is not alone: quite a few players over the past fortnight have all decided to swap major leagues including Serie A and the Premier League for a new challenge on another continent.
...and other players have followed suit in search of a new adventure (and a bigger paycheck)
Martinez's Asian transfer fee record only lasted for two days. Barely 48 hours later, Jiangsu Suning announced that they had made a big signing: Shakhtar Donetsk's Alex Teixeira. The 26-year-old Brazilian cost the ambitious Chinese side a whopping €50 million, and this came on the heels of another major purchase: fellow Brazilian Ramires from Chelsea cost them about £25 million (or over €32 million).
Despite being an integral part of Jose Mourinho's side - making 15 starts in Chelsea's first 23 games - the 28-year-old midfielder found his playing time drastically limited under interim manager Guus Hiddink, but instead of opting to move to another English club - or league in Europe - he has chosen to ply his trade on the other side of the world.
The Premier League and La Liga were not the only two major sides to see players depart for the Chinese Super League. Inter's Fredy Guarin and Roma's Gervinho opted to say arrivederci to Italy's Serie A in favor of Shanghai Greenland Shenhua and Hebei China Fortune respectively, costing their new sides a bit over €11 million and £13.5 million (or over €17 million with the current exchange rate).
And here is a look at some additional players other than the ones mentioned who will be featuring in the growing Chinese Super League this season (photo courtesy of Sky Sports):
Ambitions of becoming a footballing powerhouse: the vision of President Xi Jinping
Many may wonder where this sudden uptick of migrations to China has come from. After all, despite growing in popularity in Asia, not many outside the continent avidly follow any of the teams. Chinese football's top tier was viewed as a place where a footballer near the end of his career could collect a nice pay check without exerting himself too much.
China itself on the international front are not viewed in the same tier as South Korea and Japan. Yes, the womens' national squad has enjoyed quite a bit of success, but their male counterparts have only made one World Cup appearance to date: in 2002, when they crashed out of the group stage, conceding nine goals and with no wins or a goal to their name.
Well, current president Xi Jinping is determined to change all that, especially considering that China has long harbored aspirations of hosting a World Cup. Still, the flurry of spending thus far - which is only exceeded by the Premier League - has some sceptics wondering whether this will be truly sustainable, especially given that the country's economy has been sagging as of late.
And those who harbor some questions and view this sudden uptick in transfer activity can point to the case of two famous footballers who headed east...and returned empty-handed and disappointed.
Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka: The big signings...with a cautionary tale
In 2012, veteran strikers Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba decided to swap Chelsea for Shanghai Shenhua. Anelka was the first to head east, on January 1, 2012 and was reportedly set to earn a yearly salary of €12 million. The former French international would be soon joined by Drogba about five months later, when on June 19th, the African icon's move to China was announced, with the Ivorian set to earn a reported £200,000 per week (translating into over £10 million or over €13.5 million annually).
However, their time in China was a rather unpleasant one, and neither Anelka nor Drogba saw out their contracts as they immediately pulled the plug on their Asian adventure moved on to Juventus and Galatasaray. There were widespread reports that they were not compensated as per the contracts they had been offered, and recently, AC Milan's Luiz Adriano abruptly made a U-turn on a move to Jiangsu Suning after an inability to come to an agreement regarding his pay check, sparking rumors that all that glitters is not gold in the Chinese Super League.
With the transfer window not closing until February 26th, there are still plenty of days to go for China's teams. Will we see more big signings? And will we see another episode of the Drogba-Anelka debacle, or will things turn out better this time around?
Here's what some of the world's most well-known managers have to say on China's spending spree:
