Jackson Martinez has departed from Atletico Madrid in favor of joining Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao in a reported 42 million euro ($45.9 million) transfer fee, making the Colombian the most expensive player in Chinese Super League history, as reported by China Daily.
Guangzhou Evergrande confirmed the transfer on its website, saying that they have offered the striker a four-year contract. Other details like salary were not disclosed, but it is believed to be sizable enough to lure a promising talent away from the teams in Europe.
The transfer was just in time as Guangzhou Evergrande had lost striker Elkeson to Shanghai SIPG.
The deal is the latest in a trend of big spending on foreigners that characterizes Chinese football at the moment. Guangzhou Evergrande made a similar move several years go, bringing in South American Luiz Muriqui and Darlo Conca.
Martinez arrived together with Gervinho in Hebei China and Ramires in Jiangsu Suning. This marked a change in how Chinese football clubs spend.
In the past, Chinese football teams have been signing Brazilian players. Now, the trend leans more toward signing A-list Europeans who have fallen out of favor.
Martinez scored 92 goals in 133 games for three seasons while with Porto.
As of six months ago, Martinez was one of the most popular football players in the market.
The prolific scorer failed to meet expectations at Vicente Calderon, scoring only 2 goals after 15 appearances.
Diego Simone, the manager of Atletico, lost trust in Martinez, who was in competition with younger teammates like Angel Correa and Luciano Vietto.
Some believe that Martinez, aged 29, is past his prime.
When Atletico sold Martinez, it managed to earn back the 35 million euros spent on obtaining him in the first place.
According to rumors, Spain is trying to get Diego Costa as a coach.