Football: Chinese swoop for Belgium international Witsel

(AFP) - China's buying binge continued into the New Year with Tianjin Quanjian FC luring Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel away from Zenit Saint Petersburg with an €18 million (S$27.3 million) annual pay packet, Belgian media reported on Monday (Jan 2).

Over the four-year deal, Witsel, 28, will pocket €72 million in salary at the club coached by Italian former World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro, the 2006 World Player of the Year.

He joins the club in north-eastern China with immediate effect, Belgian TV station RTBF said on its internet page.

Starting off his career at Standard Liege, Witsel moved to Benfica before joining Zenit and was linked to a move to Juventus before the big money Chinese bid came in.

The stalwart of Belgium's international midfield, who has 71 caps and has scored seven goals, is the latest capture by a Chinese club and comes on the heals of the December deal that makes Argentina's Carlos Tevez the highest-salaried player in the world at Shanghai Shenhua, where he will earn €38 million a season.

Earlier in December, Shanghai SIPG recruited Brazialian Oscar from Chelsea for €71 million.