‘Overweight’ Carlos Tevez is the ultimate symbol of Chinese Super League largesse
The Argentinean continues to struggle in Shanghai and the government hopes his like will never be seen again
A blue Shanghai Shenhua scarf was thrown around his neck and hundreds of fans mobbed the Argentine forward, who had just sealed a transfer deal making him at that moment the best-paid footballer on the planet.
But just eight months later the 33-year-old has become a symbol of Chinese clubs’ largesse that the Beijing government hopes will never be repeated.
Chinese fans and media have an unflattering nickname for Tevez, “Very Homesick Boy”, a play on how his name is pronounced in Chinese and a nod to problems he has had throughout his career settling anywhere.
Tevez, who reportedly pockets about $850,000 (HK$6.64 million) a week, has never stuck around for long at any club during a career that started at Boca Juniors in Argentina and took him to Brazil, England, Italy and back to Boca, before his surprise move to China in January.