Ex-Chelsea star Oscar in tears as he bids farewell to China after netting extraordinary sum during eight-year Shanghai Port career

The Brazilian's 2017 transfer to China came as a huge surprise to fans across Europe and South America, with many people deriding Oscar for moving to a far lower-standard league at the peak of his career. The 33-year-old has committed firmly to life in the Chinese top flight and only recently announced he would be leaving Shanghai Port, having raked in a staggering £175m in wages over the last eight years. Now a club legend, he broke down in tears after local fans chanted for him to stay at the club following his last game.

Oscar's career has been truly unique. The attacking midfielder shone for Chelsea in the mid-2010s, winning two league titles, the Europa League and the League Cup and proving a key creative force for Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. But his £60m transfer to Shanghai Port - completed in 2017 at the height of the Chinese Super League's spending power - effectively ended his international career, and while he has won several trophies and earned staggering sums of money for his family whilst playing in China, he sacrificed the respect of many fans and pundits around the world.

During his eight-year spell in China, Oscar made 248 appearances for Shanghai Port and scored an impressive 77 goals in that time, registering 141 assists on top of that figure. He moved to China in the same year as John Obi Mikel, Odion Ighalo, Carlos Tevez, and Alexandre Pato, but ended up staying in the Super League far longer than any of his peers.

Oscar may be leaving China, but it's not yet clear whether this is the end of his playing career. According to China Daily, the 33-year-old loves Shanghai, "but it's just too far away from home for us. We can't stay here forever." He added: "My mom is getting older, my sisters are having babies. We want to be closer to home." The indication is that a move to Brazil, or at least South America, is on the cards, and his former club Internacional are reportedly keen, with manager Eduardo Coudet saying: "I want to bring in Oscar."