How Africa
Argentine striker Carlos Tevez has signed to play for Shanghai Shenhua, becoming the latest in a procession of star players to join the Chinese Super League.
Shanghai Shenhua said Thursday that it paid an $11 million transfer fee to Argentine club Boca Juniors.
A source familiar with the negotiations said Tevez, 32, would be paid $40 million over two years. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge details of the transaction.
Tevez is expected to join the team on the Japanese island of Okinawa next month, with a formal introduction to follow soon afterward. The next Super League season begins in March.
Chinese clubs have spent heavily over the past year to attract mainly South American stars. Last week, Shenhua’s city rival Shanghai SIPG signed Oscar from Chelsea. Other stars to join Chinese clubs include the Brazilians Hulk, Ramires and Paulinho, Colombian striker Jackson Martinez and Argentine forward Ezequiel Lavezzi.
China’s government wants to turn the country into a soccer power, and a cornerstone of the plan is improving its top domestic league.
That has alarmed the major European clubs who previously had no rival in attracting the world’s top players. Antonio Conte, manager of Chelsea, said earlier this month that “the Chinese market is a danger for all.”
Tevez has appeared in two World Cups for Argentina and previously played for Manchester United, Manchester City and West Ham United in England’s Premier League, as well as Italy’s Juventus. (AP)
