Ezequiel Lavezzi is not the first footballer from a major European league to leave for China in 2016, but he might just be the luckiest.
Lavezzi, the Argentinian striker who played for Paris Saint-Germain, the French giant that has massive financial backing itself from its Qatari owner Qatar Sports Investments, has joined Hebei Fortune on a two-year deal.
The 30-year-old will not be short of cash, with the Daily Mail reporting that his salary will be £23.5 million over two years ($33.6 million) after tax. That equates to around £226,000 ($323,000) a week.
OFFICIAL: @PochoLavezzi has officially joined hebei from @PSG_inside pic.twitter.com/c1yxmaze2Y
— hebei china uk (@hebei_china_uk) February 17, 2016
Twitter pictures posted on Wednesday show Lavezzi signing the contract with members of the Chinese club. He joins a mass exodus of players from top European leagues moving to China this January, among them Liverpool target Alex Teixeira, who went to Jiangsu Suning, and Chelsea's Ramires who moved to the same club.
Lavezzi's transfer instantly makes a player who was something of a marginal figure at PSG into one of the highest-paid footballers in the world.
Forbes has Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo as the highest-paid footballer globally for 2015, on a reported $52.6 million annual salary, followed by Lionel Messi on $51.8 million. Next is PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on $33.1 million and Real Madrid's Gareth Bale on $25.5 million, all after tax. Lavezzi, based on 2015 figures that do not take into account endorsements, would sit just in front of Ibrahimovic.
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