Cristiano Ronaldo's headline-grabbing arrival at Al Nassr on a bumper pay deal captured global attention last month, but in an alternate world the five-time Ballon D'or winner may well have been destined for a move further east.
The Portuguese striker's Saudi Arabia switch following the cancellation of his Manchester United contract has highlighted a shift within Asian football that started before the COVID-19 pandemic and which continues to have a significant impact.
Carlos Tevez's arrival at Shanghai Shenhua soon after on a rumoured 600,000 pounds per week only confirmed China's status as football's latest El Dorado. Two-time Asian champions Guangzhou FC, once Chinese football's dominant force, went into decline after their owners, developers China Evergrande, were forced to limit funding after the government restricted borrowing.Talent has drained from the CSL into the Saudi Pro League, with the competition's leading scorers - Al Nassr's Anderson Talisca, Abderrazak Hamdallah at Al Ittihad and Odion Ighalo of Al Hilal - all having previously played in China.
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