It has been widely reported that Brazilian playmaker Oscar could be making for Chelsea’s exit door this January and heading for a big payday with Chinese Super League club Shanghai SIPG.

The deal is thought to be worth £60m to the English Premier League side and the attacking midfielder will no doubt earn north of £150k a week.

Countless people will no doubt question why a gifted twenty-five year old would swap Europe for the Far East.

Oscar will probably come in for a lot of criticism for chasing the money but South American players have always done that. Let’s face it, that’s why they ended up coming to Europe.

At twenty-five Oscar can go over and play in Shanghai for three seasons, earn more than most do in a lifetime and still have another huge contract left in him whether that be in Asia or Europe. Maybe he’ll head back to Brazil on less money but safe in the knowledge he’s already made enough.

At Shanghai SIPG, Oscar will link up with fellow Brazilians Hulk and Elkeson. He’ll also work under former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas again, so it won’t be a totally strange environment for him.

Then you look at the Chinese Super League and you see a number of Brazilians that are now playing their trade there including former Oscar’s former Chelsea teammate Ramires. Many of these players aren’t past the prime either.

There’s no doubt that Brazilians have a history of going to new markets and earning big from their exploring.

But should we be judgemental?

I often think our (British) best young players lose out by not having a bit more ambition to play in a foreign league and testing themselves in a different culture. Yet Brazil’s best always end up leaving their homeland and they seem to do better in most international tournaments.

We also have little idea of where these players came from and what their backgrounds are.

In no other job, do we look at people going for the highest possible wage and think ‘Yeah but they lack ambition!’.

Oscar has won the Europa League and the Premier League title with Chelsea. He now finds himself on the sidelines as Antonio Conte seems to prefer the likes of Eden Hazard, Willian and Pedro.

Plus it’s not as if Oscar has much of a choice at this stage either. As far as we know his two choices seem to be stay at Chelsea, where he’s been for the last four and a half years and isn’t getting a game or move to China and earn a fortune. I seriously doubt any European team would offer anything close to £50m-£60m for his services at this stage or match the vast wage packet.

All in all it’s down to the individual.

If a player, such as Oscar, decides to move to China it will be their choice and good luck to them. It’s not simply a question of money and ambition, it’s about a livelihood and making the right decisions for oneself and their family.

But alas football can often be a snooty place and people will always sneer at new leagues and how they throw their money around. Yet they’ll no doubt watch Sky Sports News on transfer deadline day and not see any irony!

Posted on December 14th, 2016 by scott
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