World’s highest-paid volleyball player Zhu Ting gives up millions to return to China for 2020 Olympics preparation
- The 24-year-old is earning €1.5 million a year at her Istanbul club
- Zhu will join a Chinese team next season to prepare for Tokyo 2020 Games after helping VakıfBank defend their title
Chinese volleyball superstar Zhu Ting will leave her club VakıfBank Istanbul – and the big money she is earning in Turkey – to return to China to prepare for the Olympic Games next year.
Zhu, who helped VakıfBank defend their league championship last weekend, said she would end her three-year career in Turkey, according to Xinhua news agency.
The 24-year-old spiker, who led China to a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Games, is the world’s highest-paid volleyball player after joining the Turkish club after the last Olympics.
She is earning €1.5 million (US$1.68 million) a year after making over €1 million in each of her first two years with VakıfBank.
Zhu told Xinhua she has enjoyed three good seasons in her first foray overseas in her professional career with the comprehensive support of VakıfBank.
Her next stop will definitely be going back to China, she said however, though she has yet to decide which club she will join.
VakıfBank also sent out an official announcement, saying Zhu will leave the club for one year and return to China to prepare for Tokyo 2020. The club thanked Zhu for her contribution after helping them to achieve domestic and international honours.
During her three years in Istanbul, Zhu twice helped the club clinch the league championship, scoring 2,150 points over 125 matches. She also led VakıfBank to two FIVB women’s Club World Championship titles and two European Champions League titles, and won six MVP titles in different tournaments during these three years. Turkish Volleyball Federation president Mehmet Akif Ustundag said he considered Zhu a sports ambassador between China and Turkey.
In an interview in Macau in 2017, Zhu said it did not make her feel special to be the world’s highest paid volleyball player as she never asked for that amount of money and her salary was decided by the club.
