How Oscar's departure from Chelsea to the Chinese Super League threatened western dominance of the transfer market

Martin Macdonald

• 17 Feb 2026 01:45 CST
• 4 min read

Analysis

High-profile Premier League player Oscar jumping ship to the Chinese Super League with Shanghai Port is one of the most important transfers of all time.

At FootballTransfers, we determine the importance of a deal based on influence, legacy or the huge impact it had on a particular club or indeed the sport as a whole.

It could be because of a record-breaking or history-making transfer fee. It could be a transfer that broke down a social, cultural or racial barrier. It could be a move that transformed the fortunes of a team and led to a period of dominance. It could be a transfer that simply transcended the sport.

In the case of Oscar, he remains the most expensive ever acquisition for the Chinese Super League and the transfer marked the rise of spending excess in the country, which ultimately failed to achieve its objective.

Why did Shanghai Port buy Oscar?

After emerging as one of the next Brazilian prospects with São Paulo and then Internacional, Oscar was signed by Chelsea for around £25 million in 2012.

He made quite the impression in his first start, too, with both goals in a 2-2 draw against Juventus in the Champions League.

"I am very happy with two goals on my debut but I would have been much happier if the team had won the game," he said afterwards.

"In Brazil, young boys dream of playing in the Champions League and I'm very proud to have realised my dream."

Oscar would form an impressive attacking midfield triumvirate alongside Eden Hazard and Juan Mata under Roberto Di Matteo but things turned sour for a short period after new manager Rafa Benitez used him more as a rotation option.

Under a string of different managers, he would make over 200 appearances for the Blues, winning two Premier League titles, one League Cup and one Europa League.

He was undoubtedly a high-profile Premier League player when Shanghai came calling, but at the same time, Chelsea were delighted to see such interest due to the fee involved.

The Transfer

The rise of the Chinese Super League came from the desire to attract some of the biggest players in the world to the country in the hopes that it would one day become a football superpower.

That came alongside a pledge from President Xi Jinping that China would qualify for the World Cup again, as their only appearance in the tournament came in 2002.

Indeed, since his announcement in 2011, China haven't qualified for the World Cup for a second time.

In the period of exorbitant spending, the likes of Carlos Tevez, Dider Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Hulk, Jackson Martinez and Ezequiel Lavezzi all headed East for major pay days.

Oscar remains the most expensive purchase ever from the CSL.

Shanghai Port tabled a bid worth £60 million for the attacking midfielder in December of 2016 and the transfer was completed the next month.

For the player, he admitted himself that the finances were too good to turn down, as he earned £400,000 per week during his time in China to make him one of the highest-paid footballers on the planet.

"Every football player, or every person who works, wants to earn money to help their families," the Brazilian told The Guardian in 2017.

"I came from a social background in Brazil that is very poor. We didn’t have anything. This is the fruit of my work and when I earn this, it is because I conquered it. The same way I came here, I will be able to return to Europe. Whatever decision I make, somebody will talk good or bad about it.

"All the foreign players who come here are at a really high level. China has incredible financial power and sometimes makes offers that players can’t refuse."

Did the transfer work out?

Oscar was undoubtedly in China for the money but he ended up spending seven years with Shanghai, winning the CSL in 2018, 2023 and 2024 as well as the Chinese FA Cup and Chinese Supercup.

In 2025, he returned to his first club São Paulo but was forced into early retirement in December of that year after the discovery of a heart issue that caused him to faint during a training session.

Legacy

Unfortunately, the legacy of spending for the Chinese Super League is a farcical one in 2026.

There is now a salary cap in place in the CSL which limits wage spending on foreign players to around £8.7m per year. Oscar's first contract with Shanghai Port was worth £20.8m per year - and that was for a single player.

The 2026 Chinese Super League will commence with nine clubs on points deficits after a major match-fixing scandal. Shanghai Shenhua, who finished second in the competition last season, and Tianjin Tigers have been given the harshest punishment. They will each start the campaign with a 10-point deficit plus a fine.

In September of 2024, no less than 43 players and officials were given lifetime bans for participating in match-fixing.

One of the more high-profile names involved in such scandals in China is former Everton midfielder Li Tie, who has actually been jailed for his offences.

Li, formerly the coach of the China national team, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for bribery in December of 2024.

Though the above is not a direct cause of the over-spending of the years before, it shows how much the competition has fell in prestige since the days of Oscar.

There was a period when the Chinese Super League threatened the western dominance of the transfer market, and that mantle has now been taken by the Saudi Pro League - with more success.

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