Chelsea transfer news: Diego Costa £80m target for Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian
CHINESE club Tianjin Quanjian are plotting a stunning £80million bid for Chelsea striker Diego Costa.
SunSport sources in China revealed Tianjin had a £50m offer rejected by the Blues last month.
And the deal, which has been kept under wraps until now, would become one of the biggest in world football.
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Costa, 28, would be set to earn a staggering £480,000-a-week playing for the Chinese Super League club.
Tianjin – managed by Italy 2006 World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro – have money to burn and are more than capable of upping their bid and even salary offer to land their man.
The club – who have just been promoted to China’s top tier – have a multi-billionaire owner in Shu Yuhui.
And last season he incredibly stated he wanted to sign Lionel Messi and even tried to snap up Ronaldinho before deciding, aged 36, he was too old.
A source told SunSport: “Costa’s agent Jorge Mendes was working on the deal for Tianjin but Chelsea have said ‘no’ to the bid. It was around £50m and the wages of £480,000-a-week would have put him among the highest earners in the world.
“At the moment, the club are seriously thinking about going back in with a much improved offer. They’re thinking about £75m would be more than right for a player of his age.
“Costa is Brazil-born and the Chinese believe Brazilian footballers are best suited to their league. The division is full of them. Hulk, Oscar, Paulinho, Alex Teixeira and Ramires are to name only a few out here.”
Chelsea sold Oscar to Shanghai SIPG – which officially went through today – for £52m … but the Brazil midfielder was not first-choice under Antonio Conte.
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This is not the first time Costa has been linked to a move to China.
During the end of last season he was said to be “open to a move there” but Conte did not want to sell.
And the Spaniard has proved his weight in gold this season.
The Blues also sold Ramires to Jiangsu Sunning last January for around £25m.
Carlos Tevez became the latest foreign recruit to China last week when he joined Shanghai Shennua on £600,000-a-week while Mendes revealed a club offered Real Madrid £250m for Cristiano Ronaldo and wages of £1.6m-a-week.
The transfer would be the third joint highest in world football, equalling the £80m deal that brought Ronaldo to Real Madrid from Man Utd in 2009.