Dario Conca as he plays for Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League in 2013. (Photo : Reuters)
Argentine midfielder Dario Conca is returning to China. Shanghai SIPG has confirmed that the Fluminense star is headed back to the east to join their team.
Ex-England manager and current SIPG coach Sven Goran Eriksson took to his Sina Weibo account to make the announcement. The Swedish coach posted: "Conca will arrive in Shanghai soon and will be formally signed after medical."
The Argentine's return is unexpected as he only moved back to South America a year before. The 31-year old-player spent three seasons with the Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande before transferring to Fluminense.
According to reports, the deal to sign Conca involved a huge amount of $22 million.
Meanwhile, Sina Sports news site said that the contract was a two-year deal worth $10.8 million a year.
With the amount of money involved, some have accused Conca of agreeing to the move only because of money. But the former Argentine midfielder has denied it.
Speaking to SporTV, Conca revealed that his reason for transferring was the delay of Fluminense in paying for his image rights fee.
"Certainly (the reason for my departure is) the internal problems, some things that happen within the club, make me consider departure as the best way," said the player. "If I had a better plan provided by Fluminense, it would be more difficult for me to accept the transfer."
Conca played a significant role in Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande's win in the 2011 AFC Champions League. He was also part of the Evergrande team when it won the Chinese Super League championships in 2011 and 2013.
The Argentine had scored 55 goals in his 100 matches for Evergrande.
