CHINA TOPIX

04/19/2024 09:19:33 am

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Football Transfer Rumors: Wayne Rooney Offered £75M To Play For China's Shanghai SIPG?

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney

(Photo : Getty Images) Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney. The English national team captain is reportedly set to being offered £75 million by Shanghai SIPG before China’s winter transfer window closes on Feb. 26.

Manchester United and England national team captain Wayne Rooney is reportedly set to be offered £75 million by Chinese Super League team Shanghai SIPG FC before China's winter transfer window closes on Feb. 26, recent reports say.

The Daily Express recently indicated that the Shanghai Stadium residents are "attempting to bring Wayne Rooney to China" and that Swedish manager and former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson's club is keen to move his former national team player from England to his side before the Chinese winter transfer deadline passes.

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If the deal will push through, it will be tied with Luis Suárez's signing from Liverpool to Barcelona in 2014 for the fourth most expensive transfer move in world association football history.

Aside from that bid, Shanghai SIPG is said to be keen on giving the 30-year-old Rooney a three-year, £25 million per season salary.

Chinese Super League clubs have been the biggest spenders during this winter transfer window as they have pulled off the top three richest signings of the said transfer season.

Brazilian footballer Alex Teixeira was recently signed by Jiangsu Suning for £38.4 million, the highest this winter, while Guangzhou Evergrande acquired Atletico Madrid's Jackson Martinez for £32 million last week. Jiangsu also pulled off another huge signing during late January when they snagged another Brazilian, Ramires, from Chelsea FC for £25 million.

Rooney's rumored £75 million transfer deal would be both unprecedented and mind-boggling for Chinese clubs if it will indeed push through.

"You can't take away the fact that money is the primary factor," Eriksson said, who led his team to second place in the CSL last season behind five straight domestic winners Guangzhou, as per Daily Mail Online. "The Champions League used to be dominated by teams from Japan, South Korea, and Australia, but Guangzhou Evergrande (coached by Luiz Felipe Scolari) have won it in two of the past three seasons."

It was widely publicized in the past several months that Chinese president Xi Jinping, who is a passionate football fan, is keen on making China one of the world leaders in the sport and clubs from the Far East nation have been supporting him ever since his declaration.

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