Cristiano Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes, claimed that "his client has rejected a deal" from an unnamed Chinese club that "would have involved offering Real Madrid" €300M ($314.3M) to sign the Portuguese forward and paying him more than €100M ($104.8M) a year in wages, according to the London GUARDIAN. Mendes said, "Money is not everything; the Spanish club is his life. The Chinese market is a new market. They can buy a lot of players, but then again it is impossible to go for Ronaldo. Cristiano is the best player in the world and best ever. It is normal to have some offers." The transfer offer "would eclipse the world record" £93.2M ManU paid Juventus for Paul Pogba in August (GUARDIAN, 12/29). ESPN.com's Dermot Corrigan reported "Ronaldo has said that he is not motivated by money" after being linked to turning down the "lucrative offer." Asked about being the world's best-paid footballer, Ronaldo said, "In my job I try to be the best, and I work for that. So this is important for me, to be the No. 1, the most valued player. But this is not my motivation. My motivation is to play football, to be the best, and this is what I try to do. I'm looking to money only as a means to become comfortable and independent after I finish football." Ronaldo was also asked "how he finds a balance between his football and his growing business interests," which include his CR7 brands of clothing, footwear, fragrances and blankets. He said, "My team, the guys who work with me, are the best. They work hard like me, outside football. Business is something I like and in the future I can see myself in that position. But now I have to focus more on football, as that is my job" (ESPN.com, 1/2).
CSL WOOS WITSEL: ESPN.com reported "Axel Witsel has confirmed he will reject an offer from Juventus in order to join Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian from Zenit St. Petersburg." Witsel, 27, "almost joined Juve in the summer but the move fell through and a deal was expected to be completed in the January transfer window" ahead of him becoming a free agent at the end of the season. However, the Belgium int'l said that he had "an irresistible offer" from China that was "too good to turn down" (ESPN.com, 1/2).
TIANJIN QUANJIAN DOUBLE: In Seoul, Baek Byung-yeul reported "Korean midfielder Kwon Kyung-won has become the newest addition to a Chinese Super League club with the second-highest transfer fee in Korean football history." Kwon, who played for Arabian Gulf League champion Al Ahli, "signed a five-year deal" worth $15M with Tianjin Quanjian. The Chinese club reportedly paid Al Ahli $11M as a transfer fee, "the second-highest amount for a Korean footballer" following Son Heung-min, who transferred from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen to Tottenham Hotspur in '15 in a deal reportedly worth €30M (KOREA TIMES, 1/2).
