It’s no longer news that Football is a very lucrative sport. Little wonder the game is adjudged to be the most popular sport in the world, boasting of about 3.5billion estimated fans across the globe. Equally, football, as rated by Sporteology, is the 6th highest paying sport in the world. According to the 2016 Forbes List of World’s Highest Paid Athletes, two top football stars are ranked 1st and 2nd respectively.
Before now, the rush used to be the top leagues in Europe especially the English Premier League, but so far in the past few months, the tide tends to be turning towards the Chinese Super League – the new goldfield for footballers especially those in a haste to leave warming up benches and players who place money above ambition.
FAB.NG here presents top 6 Nigerian Footballers earning big in Chinese Super League. Enjoy.
Asisat Oshoala
#5 Asisat Oshoala
The 22 year-old Super Falcons striker, former Liverpool and Arsenal Ladies winger, just this past week completed her move to CSL’s Dalian Quanjian. Just a year after joining Arsenal Queens, the 2016 African Women’s Player of the Year Asisat now receives N7million monthly in her Chinese super league side.
Anthony Ujah
#4 Anthony Ujah
With a move completed in June 2016, 25 Year-old Anthony, a former Weirder Bremen striker joined the Chinese side, Liaoning. The Super Eagles’ forward who scored 11 goals in 32 Bundelisga games now earns £12million as against his previous £4million earnings at the German club side.
Odion Ighalo
#3 Odion Ighalo
The former Watford striker, who successfully netted 16 EPL goals in 37 matches, on January 31, completed his move to the CSL side, Changchua Yatai, for a whooping £20m as against his previous £8million earnings at Watford. That’s roughly $615,000 per week.
Mikel John Obi
#2 Mikel John Obi
After spending 10 years at Chelsea, the 29 years old Super Eagle captain, turned down three other offers to join China’s Tianjin TEDA signing a three-year deal worth £140,000 a week.
Obafemi Martins
#1 Obafemi Martins
The erstwhile Inter Milan, Newcastle and Birmingham city striker in February 2016 completed his move to Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. The 32 years old former super eagles forward left MLS Seattle Sounders FC to china in 2016 to earn $6.6million per annum.
With this recent premium deals, the Chinese Super League has not only succeeded in luring few football stars to its league, but also attracting global attention and sending shock waves to football club administrators and managers in Europe.
One critical question that has been keeping tongues wagging over the China gold rush is –why are players in their prime rushing over to the Chinese Super league?
The key centre of attraction is Money. After all, we all loved to be better rewarded at work, don’t we?
Many have claimed that money talks in the world of football, and that holds true!