Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce on the touchline during his side’s English Premier League match against Watford at Vicarage Road Stadium in Watford, north of London on December 26, 2016 © AFP/File / OLLY GREENWOOD
LONDON, United Kingdom, Dec 30 – Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce claims he rejected a lucrative offer from a Chinese club before taking charge of the Premier League strugglers.
Chinese Super League teams have been spending big money in a bid to add prestige to their developing league.
Former Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez is the latest high-profile star to move to China after joining Shanghai Shenhua, while Chelsea midfielder Oscar has agreed to join Shanghai SIPG.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent has claimed Real Madrid have been offered a world record £257million (300m euros, $317m) for the Portugal forward by a Chinese club.
Managers are also in demand and Allardyce revealed he was offered the opportunity to head to Asia after his brief tenure as England manager came to an end.
“Did I have an offer? Yes. I didn’t go. I could have gone but I preferred to stay here,” he told reporters on Friday.
“It’s difficult for a player or a club to turn that down, it’s just the way of the world and changing forces in the football world.
“China has decided it wants to be a force and has decided the way to do it is to buy the best players and pay over the odds. Time will tell if it’s the right thing to do.”
