Shanghai SIPG have completed an Asian transfer record deal to sign Hulk from Zenit St Petersburg – reportedly making the Brazil striker the ninth highest-paid player in the world.
Hulk becomes the first top signing in what is expected to be a frantic transfer window in the Chinese Super League. SIPG did not confirm the fee for the 29-year-old but it is understood to be £45m, which comfortable beats the £38m Jiangsu Suning paid earlier this year for Alex Teixeira.
Large Chinese conglomerates have bought domestic clubs in recent years, giving them dramatically increased spending power, with Ezequiel Lavezzi and Ramires among other imports from European leagues.
Shanghai will reportedly pay Hulk around £320,000 a week or £16.6m a year – more than Luis Suárez earns at Barcelona, though still a fair way behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s £52.6m annual deal at Real Madrid.
Hulk, who joined Zenit in 2012 from Porto, passed a medical at a Shanghai clinic on Wednesday after he was greeted by hundreds of fans at Shanghai’s airport.
Sven-Goran Eriksson, the former England manager, is under pressure to improve results after falling 12 points behind league leaders Guangzhou Evergrande.