What ex-Chelsea star Oscar surprisingly did with £175m salary from China
Chelsea sold Oscar to Chinese Super League club Shanghai SIPG for around £60million in 2017, and the Brazilian became one of the highest-paid players in the world
Oscar has spoken about how he lived in China(Image: The Obi One Podcast)
Oscar claims that he and his family lived off match bonuses rather than his salary while playing in the Chinese Super League.
Chelsea sold the Brazilian to Shanghai SIPG for £60 million at the start of the 2017 winter transfer window, in a deal that set an Asian transfer record and was then the seventh-highest of all time.
Oscar signed a contract reportedly paying him £400,000 per week and stayed for eight years, almost twice as long as he was with the Blues. He left to rejoin Sao Paulo early last year, and ended his career barely a 12 months later.
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Speaking to former Chelsea team-mate John Obi Mikel on The Obi One Podcast, Oscar said: “I put my entire salary into a separate account and never touched it once. My family and I lived off the match bonuses because they were already huge.”
He never shied away from acknowledging that the move was financially motivated. Oscar told Copa90 and Rabona months after the switch: “Every football player, or every person who works, wants to earn money to help their families.
“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.”
While a return to Europe never materialised, Barcelona tried to bring him back in 2020, with Oscar saying they offered him a six-month contract during the COVID-19 pandemic when the Chinese Super League was postponed. He also spoke about dreaming of coming back to Chelsea just three years ago.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Oscar said: “Of course, it’s a dream to come back to Chelsea because everyone knows the passion that I have for this club; It’s the same passion I have for Shanghai. It’s the two clubs I have played at for a long period.
“I have a lot of good memories at Chelsea, and I also have a lot of good memories of Shanghai. But I’m still here, and I still have dreams to play for this team.
“So, if there was something where I could come back to Europe or Chelsea, we would need to talk. For now, I’m here, and I’m trying to win the title here again.”
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