Report: Carlos Tevez offered world-record wage by Shanghai Shenhua
Carlos Tevez has been offered a pay packet by Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua that would trump what Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Gareth Bale take home each week, sources told ESPN FC's Peter O'Rourke.
The 32-year-old, currently with hometown club Boca Juniors in Argentina, has apparently been proposed a weekly salary of £615,000 (€732,000) to join the cash-rich East Asian division.
Argentina newspaper La Nacion noted that the offer would see Tevez make "more than Lionel Messi gets at Barcelona," while Ole reported that, while nothing was completed, Tevez's switch to Gustavo Poyet's side was "imminent."
Tevez is a fan favourite at Boca and is currently tied down to a deal which expires in June 2018. He was serenaded by the Estadio Alberto Jose Armando support in Sunday's 4-1 dismissal of Colon with a chant of "Carlitos is Boca's and will not leave Boca," according to O'Rourke.
He has, however, previously spoke of his disenchantment with certain aspects of the game in his homeland, and revealed he was pondering retirement in September.
"This is tiring," he said after receiving a red card against Belgrano in the Primera Division. "I will be talking with my family and with the people I need to talk to. Yes, I would consider retirement, but I would like to play for the rest of my life with this club. Coming into the Bombonera on Sundays is what makes me happy."
Tevez returned to Boca, where he started his professional days, after banging in goals for Brazil behemoth Corinthians, West Ham United, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Juventus in a career that has so far spanned over 15 years.
Shenhua, one of the more storied clubs in the ambitious Chinese Super League, already counts Demba Ba, Giovanni Moreno, and Obafemi Martins among its expensive foreign imports. It hired Uruguayan Poyet, formerly in charge of Sunderland, AEK Athens, and Real Betis, in November.
It's hoped that Tevez will scribble on some paperwork soon after flying into China next month ahead of the new Chinese football season in February.