Zenit confirm Prem target Axel Witsel to join the Chinese revolution with Tianjin Quanjian
£300,000 a week! One-time Everton and Chelsea target admits 'there was crucial offer for my family I couldn’t turn down'
FC Zenit have confirmed that Tianjin Quanjian have agreed a deal for their Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel.
Newly-promoted Chinese side Tianjin Quanjian sealed the deal by offering Witzel nearly £300,000 a week.
Witsel signed on in St Petersburg in September 2012 and spent five seasons with the blue and white sky blues, playing 180 matches and scoring 22 goals.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and gossip ahead of the January window with SunSport’s daily LIVE blog.
He helped Zenit win the Russian league title, the Russian Cup and the Russian Super Cup.
But money - in this case mega money - talks and he's on his way with the Zenit website waving him goodbye with this message:
"Everyone here at Zenit wishes to thanks Axel for his contribution to the club's history."
Related Stories
Everton boss Ronald Koeman is an admirer and thought he was close to doing a deal last summer.
Chelsea attempted to arrange a January deal for the 76-cap international but fell behind Juventus in the race for his signature.
Everything was agreed for Witsel’s move to Turin, with the player himself saying in November: “I’ll join Juventus. That will be the case. Right now I don’t know when.”
But Witsel finally admitted that his choice of new club was based on money.
He said: "It was a very difficult decision because on one hand there was a great team and a top club like Juventus.
“But on the other there was a crucial offer for my family that I couldn’t turn down."