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(Sports Focus) Martinez is worth the record deal: Evergrande

Xinhua, February 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

Chinese Super League (CSL) champions Guangzhou Evergrande have signed with Atletico Madrid striker Jackson Martinez on a four-year contract for a fee of 42 million euros, which set a new transfer record in CSL, the club announced Wednesday on its website.

It was the most expensive transfer during the winter window in the world. The club said, however, Martinez is worth the deal.

"The acquisition of Martinez will promote the image of Chinese football as a whole, and attract more world-class players to China," a club official told Xinhua.

"The club, as a listed company, is now in a good condition in cash flow," said the official who asked not to be named.

"We have raised 120 million euros on the stock market, and we sold Elkeson for nearly 20 million," he added.

Evergrande sold their top scorer Elkeson to Shanghai SIPG for 20 million euros in January.

"The transfer fee and salary will not put extra financial pressure on the club," said the official.

The Chinese club raised 869.36 million yuan (121 million euros) last month by issuing 21.73 million shares on China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) market.

The market value hit 15.87 billion yuan (2.2 billion euros) after the issuing, which is close to English club Manchester Untied which is listed in New York Stock Exchange.

The Chinese club was listed in November in NEEQ. Real property company Evergrande Group is now holding 56.71 percent of its shares with 37.81 percent for E-commerce giant Alibaba Group.

"The capital market will help us a lot, to do things that we could never imagine before in Chinese football," the club official said.

The Colombia striker, who has become the latest of a batch of world top players to move to the Chinese Super League, will join the reigning Asian Champions League champions in Dubai on Feb. 9 for winter training after he passes the medical check later.

"Martinez will be the key to our ambition in 2016 to defend the Chinese Super league title and AFC Champions League trophy," the club said on its website.

"We believe Martinez will have huge chemical reaction with the superior attacking forces in the team to build an all-around world-class system which is well balanced in front and back, and offense and defence."

Martinez, 29, moved to Atletico last July for around 35 million euros but has failed to settle at the Vicente Calderon, scoring two goals from 15 league appearances for Diego Simeone's side.

Yet that has not stopped Guangzhou, coached by former Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, from shelling out a massive fee to add him to a squad that already contains the Brazil international Paulinho, once of Tottenham Hotspur.

China's transfer window remains open until February 26 and with Jiangsu Suning having already signed Ramires from Chelsea for 28 million euros, there could be more deals to come. Endi