Antonio Conte, the manager of English side Chelsea FC, believes the huge money being spent on players by Chinese clubs is a “danger for all teams in the world’’.
The Blues’ 25-year-old midfielder Oscar is close to a £60 million (about N30 billion) move to Chinese Super League club Shanghai SIPG in January.
The Brazilian is expected to receive an estimated £400,000 (about N200m) a week.
Conte said it would be “difficult’’ to manage a player on such a high salaary.
The Chinese transfer record was broken three times in 10 days, as Chelsea’s Brazil midfielder Ramires was signed by Jiangsu Suning for £25m (about N12.5bn).Chinese clubs spent £200m (about N100bn) before the start of the 2016 season.
This was followed by Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao buying Colombia striker Jackson Martinez for £31m (about N15.5bn) from Atletico Madrid.
Jiangsu then paid Shakhtar Donetsk £38.4m for Brazilian midfielder Alex Teixeira.
However, the fee for Teixeira was eclipsed by the £46.1m paid by Shanghai SIPG for Zenit St Petersburg’s Brazil forward Hulk during the mid-season summer window.
The next Chinese transfer window opens on Jan. 1 and closes on Feb. 28.
Arsenal midfielder Alexis Sanchez has been linked with a reported £500,000-a-week contract at Hebei China Fortune, managed by former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini.
“The Chinese market is a danger for all teams in the world, not only for Chelsea,’’ said Conte.
But speaking about the Premier League, he added: “This league is fantastic, a great opportunity (for players), a great honour and we should be very proud we play in this league.”
Conte refused to confirm Oscar’s move, saying: “I don’t know exactly the amount, or the situation. Now we have to wait — when it is the moment everybody will know.’'
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