Oscar, Hulk and Fellaini among stars who could become available with Chinese Super League facing exodus over salary cap
OSCAR, Hulk and Marouane Fellaini are just three of the Chinese Super League's highest earning players who could be forced to look for new clubs after the League imposed a new salary cap.
The trio are among a host of famous names who may be on the lookout for new clubs when their current deals come to an end.
Christmas Day talks in China led to the Chinese FA announcing a £2million-a-year cap, applying to wages after tax and not including bonuses.
The move will only apply to new deals and will not affect players who have already signed on the dotted line.
But it now limits players to approximately £42k-a-week before tax which is in stark contrast to some of the eye-watering sums currently being collected by the League's biggest stars.
Although existing contracts will not be affected, the move will likely see a huge reduction in the amount of foreign players going to play in China.
BIG EARNERS
The main man affected could be Gareth Bale who was linked with a staggering £62.4m-a-year move to the Asian league last summer.
That amounted to £1.2m-a-week with Los Blancos boss Zinedine Zidane pulling the plug at the last minute.
But with a repeat deal now virtually dead in the water, Premier League clubs may consider a move more viable.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham are among the names previously put forward as potential destinations for the Welshman.
Ex-Chelsea man Oscar at £21.6m is the second most valuable man left in the League behind Belgium star Yannick Carrasco at £25.2m.
But the former Blue holds the title for highest earner on a staggering £400k-a-week.
Oscar's current deal expires on the same day as fellow Brazilian Hulk's on December 31 2020 which means neither player is likely to leave Shanghai until then.
Fellaini on the other hand has an extra year to rake in the big bucks at Shandong Luneng as his deal does not expire until December 31 2021.
Former West Ham and Stoke man Marko Arnautovic ranks third in the most valuable list at £18m.
Before former Liverpool target Alex Teixeira and ex-Roma man Stephan El Shaarawy fill the final two places.
Many may be surprised to see Hulk, 33, - who earns £320k-a-week - and ex-Red Devil Fellaini, 32, - who bags a cool £235k-a-week - missing from the top five, but their higher ages mean they are valued at just £7.65m and £6.3m respectively.
NEW RULES
In addition to the legislation on wages in the Chinese Super League, an additional foreign player is now allowed in squads.
The original limit of four has been upped to five, although there remains only four allowed on the pitch at any one time.
In announcing the cap, Chinese FA chairman Chen Xuyuan said: "Our clubs had too much money burned and our professional football has not been run in a sustainable way.
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"If we don't take timely action, I fear it will collapse."
An overall limit of £121m has been placed on each clubs' spending for each year, only 60 per cent of which can go on wages.
Chinese players in the division are also now subject to a salary cap, at £1.1m-a-year.
