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(Sports Focus) Conca is close to returning to China - reports

Xinhua, January 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

Fluminense's Dario Conca has received an irresistible offer from a club of the Chinese Super League and the former Guangzhou Evergrande player is close to returning to China again, Brazilian media reported on Monday.

Globo Esporte revealed that a Chinese team has made a proposal for Conca, but the name of the Chinese club was kept confidential. Earlier, Guangzhou Evergrande were reportedly in for Conca again but now the team who has bid for the player is believed to be Shanghai Shanggang, coached by Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Conca, who came back to Brasileirao's Fluminense in 2014 from Guangzhou, is said to be unhappy with the team due to a delay in the payment of image-rights after investment group Unimed parted ways with the club at the end of 2014. The image-rights revenue takes up the majority of Conca's salary at Fluminense.

According to Globo Esporte, the Argentina playmaker traveled in a separate flight back to Brazil on Monday after Fluminense ended pre-season training in the United States. Conca was said to be informed of the offer from China during his stay in the United States and intended to receive it.

As is quoted by another Brazilian news hub UOL, Christopher Borges, the coach of Fluminense, also admitted that Conca's trip to the Chinese football was very close to happening after the delegation of Fluminense landed at the Galeao Airport in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.

"The proposal (from China) is very good, can not refuse," said Borges. "This is a possibility that has existed since the end of the contract with Unimed."

Conca is well known in China after a successful two-and-a-half years spell with Guangzhou Evergrande that ended in December 2013.

He returned to his former club Fluminense in last January and scored 16 goals from 59 matches across all competitions in 2014.

Last week, two Chinese teams announced major singings with Brasileirao's high-profile players.

Brazil international midfielder Ricardo Goulart from Cruzeiro has signed a four-year deal with Guangzhou Evergrande, while another Brazil striker Diego Tardelli from Atletico Mineiro signed with Shandong Luneng. Endi