Oscar has earned eye-watering amount of money in China since leaving Chelsea as exit finally confirmed

Oscar was in tears this week as he bid an emotional goodbye to Chinese Super League side Shanghai Port.

The 33-year-old former Chelsea midfielder, who was handed a reported £400,000 per-week contract at Shanghai when he joined in 2017, has made a total of 248 appearances since his £60 million switch.

In that time, the Brazilian helped his side win the Chinese Super League on three occasions; not to mention the FA Super Cup in 2019 and the Chinese FA Cup this year.

But after notching 77 goals and 141 assists for the CSL side – not to mention around £175 million in wages, according to The Mirror – Oscar is now set to leave after a memorable seven-year spell.

Speaking in September, Oscar explained his decision to move on. "I love Shanghai, but it's just too far away from home for us. We can't stay here forever," he said.

"My mum is getting older, my sisters are having babies. We want to be closer to home. Wherever I go, it won't be like here. There's no way to change that. The quality of life in China is unique in the world."

Oscar added: "I've never seen anything like it in Europe. My kids go to school and come back home by bus without worrying about safety. We can go out as much as we want at 2am or 3am, and go anywhere and nothing will happen.

"There are no drugs here. It's something from another world. Only those who are here, living here, understand how it feels.”

Oscar has been strongly linked with a move to former club Internacional. In fact, manager Eduardo Coudet recently made the club's intentions clear.

"Our only goal, the player we are going to try moving forward, is Oscar," he said. "I want to bring in Oscar. I've already spoken to his manager, he can't stand me anymore. I want Oscar. The board ask me not to talk, but sometimes I talk too much."

Image credit: Getty

Oscar has previously defended his much-talked-about move to the Chinese Super League, saying the offer was one he could not refuse.

"Every football player, or every person who works, wants to earn money to help their families," he said.

"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. But, as we’ve seen with Paulinho moving to Barcelona, the players on our team – like myself, Hulk and Elkeson – have enough quality to return to Europe."