Chelsea striker Diego Costa looked set for the exit door at Stamford Bridge when he had a bit of a falling out and there were strong rumours that the former Atletico Madrid man would join the long list of big names to move to China.
However. SFR Sport claims that Chelsea did indeed receive a typically massive offer from China but turned it down.
The report says that Tianjin Quanjian, managed by Ballon d'Or winner and former Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, offered a whopping £90 million for Costa's services.
Advert
As is normal in the Chinese Super League, eye-watering wages of £85m a year were part of the deal that was rejected by Chelsea.
Had the deal come to fruition, Costa would have joined former teammates John Obi Mikel and Oscar in the Chinese Super League, while the consensus is that he would have become the second most expensive player of all-time - just behind Manchester United's Paul Pogba.
Costa was dropped by Chelsea for the trip to Leicester City last month but reconciled with boss Antonio Conte and has scored three goals since returning to the side.
Back in January, The Sun reported that Tianjin Quanjian had offered £50 million for Costa but no move ever materialised.
Advert
Speaking of transfers that never happened, check out our "Transfers that never were XI":
At present, Costa earns around £150,000 a week and after his contributions this season, Chelsea are keen on offering him a new contract that will see him on terms of at least £200,000 a week and on a longer contract.
The new wages would also take him into the top five of the Premier League's top earners although he would still be someway short of Wayne Rooney's well earnt £300k-a-week.
Advert
If any Chinese Super League club are keen on signing him, they will have to wait until the summer as their transfer window for signing players ends tomorrow.
(h/t Daily Mail)
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Chelsea, Chinese Super League, Diego Costa