Guangzhou Evergrande have agreed to sell one of their top talents to a rival club in an effort to help them compete on the continental scene and bring glory to China in the process.
The Chinese Super League side have allowed Brazilian striker Elkeson to join Shanghai SIPG after the 26-year-old shot straight to second place in Evergrande’s all-time goalscorer list by helping himself to 77 goals in three trophy-smattered seasons at The Tigers.
Announcing the news in a statement issued through the Xinhua news agency, Evergrande revealed their remarkably generous reasoning behind the decision to sell their best player.
For the purpose of supporting Chinese teams to compete in the AFC Champions League, and for the national glory, we agreed Elkeson’s transfer to Shanghai SIPG.
However, it should be mentioned that the sale isn’t entirely altruistic, with Evergrande also confirming that they’re making a tidy little profit on the striker too.
(Selling) Elkeson created a record high number in the Chinese transfer market, the club got back the €5.7million investment, and acquired…profit.
Sounds like everybody’s getting a good deal. Lovely stuff.