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Chinese teams pay big fees for Ramires and Gervinho
And it’s not the ones you’re used to seeing. The Chinese Super League is growing.
Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Unsurprisingly, Chelsea have made the decision to sell midfielder Ramires, who hasn’t been first choice for quite a while. The destination -- China -- is only mildly surprising. But the transfer fee is the biggest we’ve seen a non-European club pay for a player yet.
Chinese Super League team Jiangsu has paid a staggering £20 million for Ramires, and that fee could rise to £25 million. This move comes at the same time that Roma attacker Gervinho signed for Hebei China Fortune FC.
Chinese soccer has been dominated by Guangzhou Evergrande ever since they started spending big on foreign players, but it appears that some other teams are interested in making their league more competitive.
Goal of the day
In the news
In other Chinese football news, the Portuguese second division is getting real weird because of Chinese sponsorship. (BBC)
Manchester United are apparently evaluating Louis van Gaal’s position match-by-match. His players think this is hilarious. (Guardian)
Crystal Palace have signed previously unemployed striker Emmanuel Adebayor. (CPFC)
In light of that news, we say goodbye to his previously amazing Snapchat.
AS Roma has signed Stephan El Shaarawy from AC Milan. (Roma)
The LA Galaxy have signed Jelle Van Damme, who Oguchi Onyewu once accused of racist abuse. (MLS)
Palermo’s chairman doesn’t like that he’s being investigated for tax evasion so he thinks Serie A should take some time off. (Football Italia)
Chelsea brought in an under-18, non-EU player, but here’s why they don’t think they’ll get a transfer ban. (Telegraph)
You should be reading
Si Hawkins on Mamadou Sakho becoming a fan favorite at Liverpool. (Vice)
Luke Ginnell on how Wimbledon almost moved to Ireland before they moved to Milton Keynes. (The Set Pieces)
Pablo Medina Uribe on South America’s biggest clubs challenging CONMEBOL. (Soccer Gods)
Fun with transfer rumors
Silly season has returned. Please don’t take anything in this section too seriously.
Leicester City are trying to sign Éder from Sampdoria. (Daily Mail)
But they have big competition from Inter Milan. (Football Italia)
Red Bulls star Matt Miazga might be joining Chelsea. (ESPN FC)
Napoli have rejected a bid from Arsenal for Jorginho. (Telegraph)
Shakhtar’s boss says Liverpool target Alex Teixeira is worth €50 million. (Mirror)
What happened on Tuesday
Liverpool won a trip to Wembley by beating Stoke on penalties. (Liverpool Offside)
What to watch on Wednesday (click for listings, all times ET)
Copa del Rey: 2 games (from 2:30 p.m.) -- Atléti play early, Barca late.
League Cup: Man City vs. Everton (2:45 p.m.) -- Everton come into the second leg with a slight advantage.
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