Shanghai SIPG announces Hulk transfer from Zenit St Petersburg
Zenit St Petersburg have confirmed the transfer of Hulk to Shanghai SIPG for a Russian transfer record.
The Russian club announced on Thursday the Brazil international striker will move to China for 55.8m euros (£46.2m).
That figure tops the $56 million Jiangsu Suning paid this year for Brazilian Alex Teixeira. Guangzhou Evergrande paid $47 million for Colombia’s Jackson Martinez.
Shanghai will reportedly pay Hulk $22 million annually, double what his compatriot Neymar, the Brazil captain, makes at Barcelona.
Large Chinese conglomerates have snapped up domestic clubs in the Chinese Super League, giving them dramatically increased spending power.
In the past year, Chinese teams spent more than $300 million to recruit stars from the European leagues such as Ezequiel Lavezzi and Ramires, spurring talk of an unsustainable bubble.
Hulk passed a medical examination at a Shanghai clinic on Wednesday after he was greeted by hundreds of fans at Shanghai’s airport.
He will join a squad led by former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who is under pressure to improve results after falling 12 points behind league leader Guangzhou Evergrande.
Hulk, a left-footed striker known for his muscular build and powerful shot, joined Zenit in 2012 from Porto.
The club said on its website: “Zenit and Shanghai SIPG have come to an agreement regarding the transfer of the Brazilian forward. Compensation for the player will total 55.8 million euros and there will be add-ons.”
The transfer is the largest in Russian football history, eclipsing the 40m euros (£34m) Zenit paid for Hulk and Axel Witsel respectively back in 2012.
“Over the last four seasons, I have been very happy,” Hulk said in a farewell message to fans on the Zenit website. “Go, Zenit! You will always be in my heart.”
Hulk won the Russian Premier League with Zenit in 2015 but said last year he faced racism in Russia in “almost every game,” and warned it could be “really ugly” when Russia hosts the World Cup in 2018.
The forward has 46 caps for Brazil and spent four seasons at Zenit, notching 75 goals in 144 appearances in all competitions, winning the 2014-15 Russian Premier League as the division’s top scorer.
Shanghai SIPG are fourth in the Chinese Super League.
