BEIJING: Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande have signed Atletico Madrid’s Colombian striker Jackson Martinez for 42 million euros ($46 million), the club said Wednesday, smashing the national transfer record.
Martinez, 29, whom Evergrande described on their website as “world class“, is the latest Europe-based player to head to the increasingly wealthy Chinese Super League.
The purchase broke the week-old Chinese record buy, Jiangsu Suning’s 28-million-euro purchase of Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Ramires.
It took the Chinese Super League’s total spending during the current transfer window to 204 million euros, according to website transfermarkt which tracks commercial dealings in the sport, second only to the English Premier League.
Asian champions and China’s most successful club, Evergrande are managed on the pitch by former Brazil and Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The club, mostly owned by property developer Evergrande and internet giant Alibaba, sold Brazilian striker Elkeson to domestic rivals Shanghai SIPG last month.
But Martinez will join Brazilian international Paulinho in a squad who won a fifth consecutive domestic crown in October and the following month claimed their second AFC Champions League title in three years.--AFP