Football
ESPN staff 8y

Atletico Madrid sell Jackson Martinez to Guangzhou Evergrande for €42m

Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande have signed striker Jackson Martinez from Atletico Madrid for €42 million.

Martinez, 29, signed a four-year contract, the Chinese club said on their website on Wednesday, and they also posted a tweet confirming the deal.

Atletico later confirmed that they had agreed to sell the Colombia international and wished him luck on his move.

Martinez told Atletico's official website: "Thanks to my teammates, the coaching staff and the people working at the club for the trust they had in me and the effort they made so I could come here.

"It has been an honour for me to be a part of this club, but I think the time has come to start another stage in my career. We have talked a lot in the last days and we have agreed that this is the best for all of us."

Atletico paid €35m six months ago to sign Martinez from Porto, but he struggled in La Liga, scoring just twice in 15 appearances.

The €42m represents the biggest transfer fee ever paid by a team from Asia, according to AS.

Martinez left Colombia to sign with Mexican side Chipas in 2009 before moving to Porto in 2012.

He excelled in the Portuguese Liga, leading the league in scoring all three seasons with 67 total goals. He also scored eight goals in the 2014-15 Champions League as Porto reached the quarterfinals.

The move comes after another Chinese club, Jiangsu Suning, spent £25m to buy Ramires from Chelsea in January, while Fredy Guarin and Gervinho also moved to China in the winter transfer window.

The transfer window in China closes on Feb. 26.

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