Mascherano joins CSL club
Barca defender latest star to make China move
Argentina international defender Javier Mascherano was unveiled as the Chinese Super League’s (CSL) most high-profile signing in a year on Wednesday as he joined Hebei China Fortune from Barcelona.
The highly decorated 33-year-old is the biggest name to head to China since his fellow Argentine Carlos Tevez 12 months ago. After a series of record transfers, Chinese authorities moved to crack down on skyrocketing deals last year.
Mascherano will take the No.14 shirt – the same he wore at Barcelona and for his country – and team up with another Argentina international, Ezequiel Lavezzi, at China Fortune, who are based in Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province and are coached by former Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini.
“After reaching agreement with Barcelona FC and the player himself, the distinguished Argentina captain Mascherano has, starting today, officially joined Hebei China Fortune Football Club,” the Chinese side said.
Barcelona announced Tuesday that Mascherano, who can also play as a defensive midfielder, was leaving the club after seven and a half successful seasons, without stating his destination. Last month, Sport, a Catalan daily, said that Hebei had reached a deal to sign him from Barca for 10 million euros ($12.2 million), conditional on the Spanish club plugging the gap, which they did by signing Colombian centerback Yerry Mina.
Chinese media, however, put the transfer fee at 5.5 million euros, saying that is just under the threshold that would trigger a 100 percent tax under rules imposed by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) on incoming foreign transfers in May. The surcharge was a way of reining in Chinese clubs who in recent transfer windows shelled out huge amounts on international stars, prime among them Tevez, who moved back to Boca Juniors earlier this month after a miserable year at Shanghai Shenhua.
Shanghai SIPG have also spent big, buying up the likes of Brazilians Hulk and Oscar, the attacking midfielder signed last year for an Asian-record 60 million euros from Chelsea.
The CFA brought in the levy partly to encourage CSL teams to cultivate local players instead.
Tevez, a teammate of Mascherano at West Ham United more than a decade ago, became a reviled figure in China and recently said that his stint in Shanghai – where he earned a reported 730,000 euros a week – was “a holiday.”
Fans of Hebei, who finished fourth under Pellegrini when the CSL ended in November, will be hoping Mascherano can enjoy an altogether more successful spell in China.