Alex Teixeira’s China passport may cost €80 million, report says – Brazilian waits for a new four-year contract to help fulfil residency requirements
- The 30-year-old is reportedly keen on representing China in the future through naturalisation but needs someone to pay his enormous salary
- Teixeira’s contract with newly crowned Chinese Super League champions Jiangsu Suning ends on December 31, having scored 10 goals in 20 games last season
Brazilian winger Alex Teixeira is reportedly keen on becoming a naturalised Chinese citizen and play for the national team but it may turn out to be a costly quest – as much as €80 million (US$98 million), according to a media report.
Sina Sports’ Yuan Ye writes that the 30-year-old Teixeira, who joined newly crowned Chinese Super League champions Jiangsu Suning from Shakhtar Donetsk for €30 million in 2016, needs to sign another four-year contract to eventually fulfil residency requirements and become a Chinese citizen.
The Brazilian is earning around €450,000 a week – one of the highest paid players in the Chinese Super League – and is reportedly keen to move to another club, with Shanghai SIPG showing interest.
Yuan says, though, that Jiangsu are unlikely to let him move to another CSL club. The former Vasco da Gama player is more than welcome to move to Europe when his contract expires on December 31 but Jiangsu would reportedly lodge a protest if he was to join a rival Chinese team.
Yuan suggests that Jiangsu would be willing to renew his contract at a maximum salary but that would mean Teixeira – scorer of 10 goals in 20 matches last season – would be prevented from leaving the club over the four years of his deal.