The Chinese Super League is at it again
Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha has been offered the chance to become one of the best paid players in the world in January should he join Chinese Super League team Dalian Lifang.
The club, whose name you might recognise from a former shock double swoop for Atletico Madrid players Nico Gaitan and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco last year, are apparently willing to pay Zaha a minimum of £44 million per year – after taxes – over the course of a four-year contract.
He earns around £130,000 per week (before tax) at Palace, an amount that would almost triple if he moved according to Mail Sport.
Other than the money, and let’s not kid ourselves, that is a ludicrous amount, there isn’t a lot else the CSL has to offer a player of Zaha’s ability other than excessive air pollution (he’s already in London) and the slim hope of returning to elite European football one day à la Paulinho and Axel Witsel.
The club are, however, managed by former Real Madrid manager Bernd Schuster, who won La Liga with the side in 2008.
Reportedly, the Ivory Coast international could earn up to £2.5 million a year just in performance bonuses, as well as first class travel to and from the UK regularly.
Whether or not Zaha would be open to the move remains to be seen, but should he want to live out the rest of his days like Scrooge McDuck, or even just experience the lovely smog-free views across the Dalian seaport, or stroll through the famous Xinghai Square on a weekday, it must be reassuring to know that the option is out there.
And, again, let’s not forget about the money. That is a lot of money. That is quite a lot of money.
