15 players who got filthy rich playing in China as Saudi Arabia targets world-class stars

 While Saudi Arabia now have their eyes upon dominating the football world, there was a time just a few years ago when China lured away a number of stars to play in the Chinese Super League

Just days after they seemingly bought the entire sport of golf, Saudi Arabia looks set to dish out hundreds of millions to try and attract some of the biggest names in football their way.

The merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour was just the first move in a major set of sporting announcements this week.

After announcing he would be leaving Real Madrid, legendary French forward Karim Benzema revealed he would be signing for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad, inking a monstrous contract worth nearly £200million a season.

N'Golo Kante looks to be the next superstar heading to the middle east on a bumper deal, while Wilfried Zaha is also said to have been offered a lucrative contract to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr.

However, there was a time just a few years ago that the Chinese Super League tried the same thing Saudi Arabia are now, albeit on a slightly smaller scale to the money being offered out to Benzema, Kante and Zaha.

And with that in mind, let's take a look at some of the past most lucrative deals in the Chinese Super League...

Javier Mascherano

Upon leaving Barcelona back in January 2018, Javier Mascherano inked a £115,500-per-week deal with Hebei China Fortune.

John Obi Mikel

Ex-Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel doubled his wages by signing for Tianjin TEDA back in 2017, earning £140,000-per-week.

Mousa Dembele

Former Tottenham Hotspur favourite Mousa Dembele joined Guangzhou City in 2019, being paid a reported £150,000-per-week.

Gervinho

Ex-Arsenal ace Gervinho signed a £165,000-per-week deal with Hebei China Fortune back in January 2016.

Yannick Carrasco

Yannick Carrasco moved to Dalian Pro from Atletico Madrid back in February 2018 on a deal worth £180,000-per-week, only to move back to the Spanish capital just under two-years later to rejoin Diego Simeone.

Ramires

Ex-Chelsea star Ramires secured himself a lucrative contract of £200,000-per-week when he joined Jiangsu Suning for around £25million back in January 2016.

Marouane Fellani

£205,000-per-week star Marouane Fellani left Manchester United back in 2019 and has not looked back. The Belgian ace is still playing in China, turning out for Shandong Taishan (formerly known as Shandong Luneng).

Asamoah Gyan

Bizarrely, there was a period of time in which Asamoah Gyan was one of the world's best paid players, with Shanghai SIPG paying the Ghanaian £227,000-per-week when he signed for them in July 2015.

Paulinho

Brazilian international Paulinho had two spells in China with Guangzhou Evergrande, with a spell at Barcelona in between. He was paid a reported £230,000-per-week.

Axel Witsel

Belgian star Axel Witsel was paid £255,000-per-week during his time with Tianjin Quanjian back in 2017.

Graziano Pelle

Ex-Southampton striker Graziano Pelle earned a whopping £263,000-per-week whilst playing for Shandong Taishan.

Hulk

Brazilian ace Hulk spent five seasons in China playing for Shanghai SIPG, who paid him £320,000-per-week.

Oscar

Another ex-Chelsea star who moved to China, Brazilian midfielder Oscar joined Shanghai SIPG for a whopping £67million. The move saw him bag a contract worth £500,000-per-week.

Carlos Tevez

Former Manchester United and Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez was paid an extortionate £634,615-per-week whilst turning out for Shanghai Shenhua. The Argentine scored just four goals in 20 appearances.

Ezequiel Lavezzi

And finally, former Napoli forward Ezequiel Lavezzi topped the list of earners, taking home a ginormous £798,000-per-week whilst playing for Hebei China Fortune.