Atletico Madrid’s struggling striker Jackson Martinez has signed for Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande for €42 million.
The 29-year-old has moved from Atletico after scoring just two goals from 15 La Liga appearances for the Rojiblancos, clearly showing that the Colombian international hasn’t made an instance impact in the Spanish league.
However, there is good news for Atletico fans, as the club have made a €7 million profit on him after paying €35 million for him in the summer.
"The moment has arrived to start a new stage in my career," Martinez was quoted as saying on Atletico's official website. "The club and I have spoken in the last few days and we are agreed this is the best thing for everyone."
Power of Chinese football
The clubs in China have definitely had the busiest winter transfer window ever, bringing in big-name players from England, Spain, Italy among others.
Chinese clubs spent more than the Premier League last month with their transfer window still open, a fact which becomes even more significant considering the level of money currently being invested by even the smallest clubs in the English top flight.
€148 million were spent from teams in the Chinese Super League, with their most powerful clubs completing some of the biggest deals of the window.
Hebei China Fortune completed the signing of Roma’s attacker Gervinho for €18 million, Chelsea’s midfielder Ramires went to Jiangsu Suning for a fee of €28 million and Shanghai Shenhua brought in Martinez' Colombian compatriot Fredy Guarin for €13 million.
Struggling at Atletico Madrid
Martinez hasn’t made much of an impact after making a big move from Porto to Atletico Madrid in the summer, his only two league goals coming against Sevilla and Valencia.
He allegedly had the chance to move to the Premier League last summer, where he may well have suited the playing style in England with his well-known physical attributes.
In the end, however, Martinez failed to live up to his large transfer fee, found it hard to adapt to Diego Simeone’s system and started losing confidence week by week.
Martinez played for Atletico Madrid 23 times this season, showing the level of confidence Simeone had in him despite not doing what he does best, scoring goals.
As a player who had scored 60 goals in his past three seasons, many would have expected him to be back to the form he was accustomed to during his immensely successful time in Portugal. For now, though, he will be plying his trade in one of the fastest-growing football leagues in the world.