Is Wayne Rooney about to leapfrog Carlos Tevez and become the highest paid player in world football with a switch to the Chinese Super League?

CHINESE football is shaking the established order of the beautiful game from top to bottom.

And nowhere is that more clearly shown than in wages, with two of football's three highest earners no longer playing in the sport's European heartland.

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Carlos Tevez is now the one player who rakes in the most cash anywhere in the world.

But now Wayne Rooney could be set to topple his former Manchester United team-mate if he makes a £52m-a-year switch to the Far East.

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Tevez's transfer from Boca Juniors to Shanghai Shenhua has sent shockwaves all around the world of football - and that was not even the first.

Axel Witsel is now being touted as the next player to break into the game's top 10 earners, having already agreed a deal to join the Chinese Super League, despite being in the peak years of his career.

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The Belgian was wanted by Juventus, but has turned down the Old Lady in order to earn the mega bucks in the Far East.

China are desperate to pump the country into a football frenzy, with the sport seen as a political tool to fire the Communist nation into the 21st century.

China last qualified for the World Cup in 2002, where they lost all three group-stage games.

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But through club football, they are determined to do what they have done in table tennis and other Olympic sports, farming the finest talent and turning them into winners.

Lionel Messi is due an improved contract at Barcelona - but sources in Spain suggest he is mulling over a move... possibly to the Premier League.

World record transfer Paul Pogba is also up there in the top 10, with the Frenchman starting to justify his high pricetag at Old Trafford.

Manchester United also have the biggest wage bill in world football - not only do they pay their top players the big bucks, but the squad earn more overall than anywhere else.

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