Robbie Kruse has left his German club to join the Chinese Super League. (Photo : Getty Images Sport)
Australian winger Robbie Kruse has left his German club Bayer Leverkusen to join Liaoning Whowin FC of the Chinese Super League in a $535,000 deal. Rudi Voeller, Leverkusen's director of sport, confirmed the transfer.
Lianoning Whowin will pay a transfer fee of €500,000 for Kruse.
The 28-year-old Kruse is the latest European-based player to be lured by the cash windfall provided by the Chinese Super League and is the third Bundesliga player to join Liaoning.
Last year, striker Anthony Ujah and defender Assani Lukimya left Werder Bremen for the Chinese ball club.
Kruse also joined fellow Australians Dario Vidosic and Michael Thwaite at Liaoning Whowin.
Kruse started planning the transfer last November after feeling the negative effects of lack of playing time in the Bundesliga, which resulted in a lackluster performance for Australia in their 2-2 draw with Thailand at a World Cup qualifier. He noted that he can feel that he's not in the rhythm he used to be when he had regular playing time before an injury.
Other players from European leagues who have transferred to China are Argentine star Carlos Tevez joined Shanghai Shenhua from Boca Juniors, Brazilian Oscar who left Chelsea for Shanghai SIPG, Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel who is playing for Tianjin Quanjian, Italian striker Graziano Pelle who is now with Shandong Luneng and Argentine Ezequiel Lavezzi who is playing for Hebei China Fortune.
Kruse played three games for Leverkusen this season and came off the bench last month in their 3-0 victory over Monaco in the Champions League.
The Australian forward made a total of 61 Bundesliga appearances for Dusseldorf, Leverkusen and Stuttgart and featured in a further 11 Bundesliga 2 games for Dusseldorf during his injury-plagued six-and-a-half years in Germany.
A serious knee injury in Jan. 2014 kept him out of Australia's World Cup squad for the Brazil finals. He also spent half a season on loan at Stuttgart up until Feb. 2016.
