Ronaldo rejects € 300 million Chinese transfer offer, claims agent

WORLD PLAYER of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo has turned down the chance to leave Real Madrid for an unnamed Chinese club for a transfer fee of 300 million euros ($315.24 million), his agent said on Thursday.

Speaking to Sky Italia at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, Jorge Mendes said the deal would have been worth 100 million euros a year to the Portugal striker.

"From China they've offered 300 million euros to Real Madrid and more than 100 million per year to the player," Mendes was quoted as saying.

"But money is not everything. Real Madrid is his life. Cristiano is happy at Real Madrid and it is impossible to go to China.

"The Chinese market is a new market. They can buy a lot of players but then again it is impossible to go for Ronaldo."

News of the offer made to European champions Real came on the same day Argentine striker Carlos Tevez joined the Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua from Boca Juniors.

No financial details were disclosed but media reports said Shenhua had paid 84 million euros for former Manchester City and Manchester United forward Tevez.

Last week Brazil midfielder Oscar joined local rivals Shanghai SIPG from Chelsea for a fee that media reports put at 60 million euros.

Ronaldo hailed ‘the perfect end’ to a stellar 2016 after his hat-trick sealed a second Club World Cup title for Real earlier this week.

David Moyes revealed last weekend that he wanted to sign Real Madrid stars Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos while in charge at Manchester United in 2013.

Shopping spree

The next Super League season begins in March. Chinese clubs have spent heavily over the past year to attract mainly South American stars. Last week, Shenhua's city rival Shanghai SIPG sealed a deal with Oscar from Chelsea. Other stars to join Chinese clubs include the Brazilians Hulk, Ramires and Paulinho, Colombian striker Jackson Martinez and Argentine forward Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Tevez will be coached by Gus Poyet, the former Sunderland and Real Betis manager who became Shenhua's manager in November. Other internationally recognized managers in the Chinese Super League include Guangzhou Evergrande coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, Shanghai SIPG coach Andre Villas-boas, and Hebei China Fortune's Manuel Pellegrini.

China's government wants to turn the country into a football power, setting the goal of having a team capable of winning the World Cup by 2050. Leading the national team is Italian coach Marcello Lippi, signed earlier this year to a hefty contract of his own. China has also invested in youth soccer and building stronger pipelines to develop homegrown talent.

Growing concerns

But the Super League's shopping spree has raised eyebrows and alarmed major European clubs who previously had no rival in attracting the world's top players. Antonio Conte, manager of Chelsea, said earlier this month that 'the Chinese market is a danger for all.'

Tevez has appeared in two World Cups for Argentina and previously played for Manchester United, Manchester City and West Ham United in the English Premier League, as well as Italy's Juventus.

Tevez moved last year to Boca Juniors, the club where he began his senior career, after helping Juventus win its fourth straight Serie A title. But he was quoted in the Argentine press this year saying that he was unhappy and even contemplating retirement.