SHANGHAI: Argentina’s former Manchester United and Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has signed for Shanghai Shenhua in the latest big-money Chinese deal, the club said Thursday, reportedly making him the world’s best-salaried footballer.
The acquisition of the 32-year-old from Buenos Aires side Boca Juniors will “greatly enhance” the team’s front line, Shenhua said on a verified social media account.
“The club looks forward to Tevez helping Greenland Shenhua attack cities and strike stockades in Asian and domestic matches and contribute to more exciting games for fans,” it said, calling him “the most outstanding striker in Argentina’s history.”
It did not put a value on the transaction, but Argentine media previously reported Tevez would make $84 million over two years under the contract — 20 times his previous earnings.
In a statement Boca thanked Tevez, who was on his second spell with the club, scoring 25 goals in 56 matches, including a double in a 4-2 Clasico victory over their bitter rivals River Plate earlier this month
Boca wished him good luck, saying he had left fans with “unforgettable memories” and telling him they would be “dreaming of your return.”
“We’ll work on bringing you back,” it added. “No effort is too great to have you wearing our shirt again.”
After passing a medical Tevez will join the rest of the squad on the Japanese island of Okinawa, where they are holding pre-season training until late January, according to Shenhua.
The side are coached by former Uruguay international Gus Poyet, who was installed last month after the club parted ways with his Spanish predecessor Gregorio Manzano despite finishing fourth in the Chinese Super League.
If reports are correct, Tevez’s $40 million annual salary would make him the world’s best-paid footballer in terms of earnings from his club, catapulting him past the previous top three: Cristiano Ronaldo, said to take home $23 million a year after tax from Real Madrid, his teammate Gareth Bale, and FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
All top footballers pad their salaries with lucrative sponsorships, which can send their incomes even further into the stratosphere.
Tevez is the latest international name, many of them South American, lured to Chinese football for eye-watering sums of money.
Crosstown rivals Shanghai SIPG, coached by former Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas, last week agreed a reported £60 million deal ($73 million, 70.5 million euros) for Chelsea’s 25-year-old Brazilian midfielder Oscar.
Before the Oscar deal Chinese Super League clubs had already splashed out more than $400 million on players this year, after President Xi Jinping laid out a vision of turning the country into a football power.
Chinese teams broke the Asian record three times in just 10 days in the January-February transfer window, and moved it still higher when Brazil’s Hulk joined SIPG for 55.8 million euros in July.
Significantly, Chinese clubs are now competing with European rivals for world-class players, who are opting for astronomical pay packets over the chance of a career in football’s top leagues.
Fans welcomed the latest deal. “Shanghai’s football has had its spring,” said one poster on China’s Twitter-like Weibo. “Aren’t you looking forward to next season’s Shanghai derby?“
Tevez, who has also played for Italian side Juventus during his career, has more than 70 caps for Argentina. He married the mother of his three children, Vanesa Mansilla, last week in Uruguay only to discover that his home had been burgled when he returned after the ceremony.
Tevez signs $40 million deal with China’s Shanghai Shenhua
Tevez signs $40 million deal with China’s Shanghai Shenhua
Arsenal thrash Villa 4-1 while Chelsea and Man Utd both held
- Arsenal end Aston Villa’s 11-game winning streak
- Wolves earn third point of season against Man United
LONDON: Arsenal closed out 2025 in emphatic fashion, smashing third-placed Aston Villa 4-1 on Tuesday to surge five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers, who collected their third point of the season, while Bournemouth grabbed a point at stuttering Chelsea, forcing a 2-2 draw after a frantic first-half display.
Man United are sixth, level on 30 points with fifth-placed Chelsea.
At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal slammed the door shut on charging Villa, ending their club-record winning run of 11 games.
Goals by Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Zubimendi early in the second half gave Arsenal control of a game that had looked fraught with danger.
Gabriel bundled in the opener from a corner in the 48th minute before Martin Odegaard slid a pass through for Zubimendi to score four minutes later. Arsenal secured the points when Leandro Trossard fired home from the edge of the area before Gabriel Jesus came off the bench to add the fourth.
Ollie Watkins grabbed a consolation goal for Villa in stoppage time.
“I think it was amazing,” Jesus told Sky Sports. “It’s always hard to play against them... The mentality of the team is really, really growing and each game is growing even more and I think we are winning today because of the mentality.”
Arsenal top the standings with 45 points, while second-placed Manchester City can close the gap when they play at Sunderland on Thursday.
Villa are six points adrift of Arsenal.
It took six minutes at Stamford Bridge for Bournemouth to shock Chelsea when David Brooks grabbed the opener. Cole Palmer equalized from the spot in the 15th minute and Fernandez put Chelsea ahead with a bullet shot eight minutes later.
Justin Kluivert brought Bournemouth back level in the 27th, to grab a point, adding to the London side’s unenviable record of one win in seven league games. Chelsea sit fifth, while Bournemouth are 10 spots below them.
Man Utd struggle
Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee made the most of a rare start by giving the depleted hosts the lead with a deflected shot from the edge of the box in the 27th minute.
But Wolves managed to level just before the break thanks to a header from Ladislav Krejci.
Patrick Dorgu briefly celebrated what he thought was a 90th-minute winner, but it was chalked off for offside.
“We struggled in all the game,” United boss Ruben Amorim said. “We had a lack of creation... the fluidity offensively wasn’t there.
“We didn’t play well. When you don’t play well with the ball, you struggle without it.”
Wolves have three points from 19 games, 15 points from the safety zone.
Newcastle United’s Joelinton scored after 65 seconds and Yoane Wissa doubled their lead five minutes later in a 3-1 thrashing of 19th-placed Burnley, who are winless in their last 10 games.
Josh Laurent pulled one back in the 23rd minute, but Bruno Guimaraes sealed Newcastle’s rare away win with a goal in stoppage time.
Everton climbed to eighth in the standings with a 2-0 win over their former manager Sean Dyche and Nottingham Forest thanks to goals from James Garner and Thierno Barry.
West Ham United drew 2-2 with Brighton & Hove Albion in a game that featured three penalties in the first half.
Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta, from the penalty spot, scored before the break for West Ham, while Brighton’s Danny Welbeck struck from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute but fired another off the crossbar.
Joel Veltman scored for Brighton in the 61st minute to secure the draw.
There are four more games on New Year’s Day, including fourth-placed Liverpool hosting Leeds United at Anfield.
