Hulk says enough. After four and a half years, the Brazilian will end his stage at the Shanghai SIPG of the Chinese Super League. “My contract ends in December. We already had a meeting and I said I don't want to renew. Now the proposals are raining from various countries. It is true that among them there are a lot of great clubs in Europe, competing in the Champions League, and also from Brazil. Even from China, but I don't want to stay here“This statement corresponds to a fragment of an interview that the Brazilian has granted to Sports Balloon and in which he makes it clear that his time in China is numbered.
The former Porto striker arrived in Shanghai in the summer of 2016 from Zenit Saint Petersburg, in exchange for 55.8 million euros, making him at that moment the most expensive signing in the Chinese league. His was not a fleeting adventure, like that of many other players who try the honeys of Asian money and with little time to unpack, they return to Europe. “I left Brazil, I spent three and a half years in Japan (Tokyo Verdy), four in Portugal (Porto), four in Russia (Zenit) and last week I completed four in China. Everywhere I went in and out the front door. Always well valued, with titles“he adds in the aforementioned interview.
In the four years in China it has marked 69 goals and distributed 53 assists in 125 games, although in 2020, due to the coronavirus, it has only played one match. In addition to proclaiming Superliga champion in 2018, a championship in which he played a leading role with his 13 goals and 15 assists. Now, it seems he wants to give a new look to his career and bring their power back to Europe.