“China’s transfer record kept tumbling” says the Xinhuanet website of the country’s state news agency, reporting that the Jiangsu Suning soccer club splashed out 50 million Euros to buy Brazilian midfielder Alex Teixeria on Friday. The record has been shattered four times by cash-rich Chinese Super League sides in a month, first by Brazilian Elkeson, the top scorer of Chinese and Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande, sold to Shanghai SIPG on 18.5 million Euros on January 21.
The 26-year-old Teixeira from Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk agreed to a four-year contract with the newest record. The sum beat the 2-day-old Chinese and Asian record set by Colombian Jackson Martinez who joined Evergrande on 42 million Euros on Wednesday. Teixeira will join compatriot Ramires in midfield, a China record of 28 million Euros until Evergrande’s signing of Martinez. Teixeira, who started off at Brazil’s Vasco da Gama, joined the Ukrainian side in 2010 on a 6-million-euro deal. He led the team to five league and three Cup titles, named the Golden Boot in the 2014-2015 season, having scored 26 goals in his latest 26 appearances for Donetsk. Donetsk reportedly refused Chelsea’s 32- million-Euro offer for Teixeira.
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.