“?Axel Witsel has dismissed claims that he has only moved to the Chinese Super League from Zenit St Petersburg thanks to the vast salaries on offer.
The midfielder traded football in Russia’s capital for the bright lights of Asia as he completed a £17m move to Tianjin Quanjian on January 3 – a move that will see Witsel net around 18m euros (£15.5m) a year in wages.
Speaking to HLN (via “?Football Italia), however, the 28-year-old rebuffed suggestions that he had only opted to move to Tianjin due to the money offered to him by the Chinese outfit, and explained that he had had the same accusations levelled at him when he moved to Russia’s top flight with Zenit.
He said: “There was the same controversy when I chose Zenit. People can write or say what they want, I’m used to being under the spotlight. This was also a lifestyle choice, I’m sure this will be an enriching experience for both me and my family.
“One day my children will be able to say that they’ve lived in both China and Russia.”?
Witsel had earlier told reporters that it was a “?”honour” to ply his trade in arguably the biggest growing football league in the world, while his financial adviser, Alain Goblet, described his client as a “?”pioneer” for choosing to head to the Far East to tackle a new challenge.
“Enriching”? @axelwitsel28 nice choice of words https://t.co/ksqBj15vMi
Goblet had said: “Axel can financially support his family in this way. The Chinese competition enjoys little attention right now, but maybe in the next year or so that will change. Axel will be seen as a pioneer if it does.”
Witsel had been linked with moves to the Premier League with Everton, Chelsea and Stoke City last summer, but speculation over his future continued throughout the summer transfer window and eventually led the Toffees, Blues and Potters to look elsewhere for potential targets.
Reports of an apparent switch to Juventus in January were also made ahead of his transfer to Tianjin, but Witsel opted to forego playing football in Serie A. The Belgium international made 179 appearances across his four-and-a-half years with Zenit after joining them in September 2012.
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