Forgotten Chelsea ace has earned staggering £146MILLION since shock decision to quit Blues just seven years ago

A FORMER Premier League winner has raked in the big bucks since his shock decision to leave Chelsea in 2016.

Football fans will remember the surprise when Oscar left the Blues in order to move to the Chinese Super League seven years ago.

PA:Empics Sport

Oscar left Chelsea in a controversial transfer to Chinese outfit Shanghai SIPG[/caption]

AFP

He has earned just under £150m in wages since his transfer[/caption]

The Brazilian midfielder was one of the highest-rated midfielders in Europe during his time at Stamford Bridge.

He won the Premier League twice and one Europa League during his five-year spell in England.

When he left the club he had fallen down the pecking order following the good form of stars such as Cesc Fabregas, N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic.

Oscar, 32, left European football altogether as he joined CSL outfit Shanghai SIPG.

He reportedly signed a lucrative contract worth up to £400,000-per-week.

The transfer was part of the league’s attempt to grow its marketability as it tried to challenge the likes of the Premier League and LaLiga.

Oscar’s contract was extended in 2019 for five more years, just before there was a rule change that would limit the salaries of foreign players in the league.

In 2020 a salary cap was introduced that would see player wages top out at £2.7million a year, significantly less than Oscar’s £20.8m a year deal.

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In his seven years in China, Oscar has earned an astonishing £146m from just his wages.

The midfielder has scored 61 goals for Shanghai in 207 appearances.

He was not the only player to be tempted out to China as the likes of Carlos Tevez, Ramires, Alexandre Pato and Marouane Fellaini all made similar moves.

Oscar’s contract will expire at the end of the season and he will have to either move or accept a lower wage in order to stay.

Oscar has insisted that he has never regretted his move and claimed that he has “fulfilled” his dreams.

He said: ‘So I lost space in the team, the opportunity came to Shanghai and I embraced it.

“I have no regrets. I had a beautiful trajectory there, in my career I managed to do everything I dreamed of and I am also very happy here.’ 

“As I left Europe at the age of 25, I always had an offer to return. 

“But nothing that got too close or that I really put my foot down to go back to. As I played for Chelsea for five years, I fulfilled my dream of playing for a big club in Europe.”

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