Ezequiel Iván Lavezzi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Hebei China Fortune and the Argentina national team as a forward, and in particular, as a winger. (Photo : YouTube/IbraAlliance)
Ezequiel Lavezzi, initially targeted by Chelsea, has joined the highly paid list of footballers in the world after signing for Chinese Super League side Hebei Fortune from PSG.
According to Daily Mail, Lavezzi's contract was due to expire at the end of this season with PSG and he agreed a two-year salary worth £23.5 million after tax. The 30-year-old joins ex-Arsenal striker Gervinho and Cameroon captain Stephane Mbia at his new club.
The Argentine has scored 22 goals in 107 League 1 games since he joined PSG in 2012, although he has mainly served as a substitute this season, with three goals in 24 matches in all championships.
Lavezzi's agents had initially held talks with Chelsea, Juventus, and Inter Milan, while Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua believed they had reached an agreement to have the forward on Tuesday.
Even as the Argentine packs his bags, his ex-teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic declined a call to join Shanghai that enquired about the Swedish superstar's availability.
Chinese teams have been on a spending spree in the transfer window scheduled to close on Feb. 26, with Hebei Fortune as well signing former Chelsea flop Gael Kakuta from Sevilla.
In the past few weeks, Jackson Martinez, Alex Teixeira, Nikica Jelavic, and Demba Ba have been signed for a Chinese side. Jiangsu Suning offered £63.4 million for Brazilian midfielder Teixeira and Ramires. Martinez has joined Guangzhou Evergrande from Atletico Madrid in a deal reported to be £31 million.
Everton star Tim Cahill is also among the players tempted to join the Far East.
According to BBC Sports, the club said of Lavezzi, "His arrival will make the team's attack more incisive, we look forward to him showing off his brave spirit."
The CSL season is set to commence on March 4. Each team is allowed to have five foreign players on board, which must include one from the Asian Football Confederation. Furthermore, each club can only have a maximum of four overseas players at any one time.
Here is footage for Ezequiel Lavezzi's best moments at PSG.
