Transfer Centre

Jamie Carragher: 'Oscar China move embarrassing'

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 17 December 2016

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher says that Oscar's decision to turn his back on the Premier League and move to China is "embarrassing".

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has claimed that Oscar's decision to turn his back on the Premier League and seek riches in China is "embarrassing".

The 25-year-old midfielder is on the verge of leaving Chelsea for Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG, where it is understood that he will collect wages in excess of £400,000 a week.

Carragher has said that he understands why players in the latter stages of their career seek big-money moves, but has blasted Oscar for leaving European football in his prime.

"It is a sad day for football when a player about to enter his prime moves for financial reasons and nothing else. The money is astronomical, but it's not as if he is on a pittance at Chelsea," Carragher wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.

"This is not a move to further his career. He will talk about the league growing in China, the chance to work with Andre Villas-Boas and the excitement about a new adventure-but we all know those words will be nonsense.

"He had gone for the size of the contract. Nothing else. Players used to look for a pay day in their mid-thirties when their career was coming to and end. We all understood that. With the riches now on offer in China, I could understand a player's head getting turned when he reaches 30 - but 25? It's embarrassing that a player would give up his career and the chance to compete for the biggest prizes in the game just for money."

Oscar's Chelsea and Brazil teammate Willian confirmed on Saturday that the former Internacional playmaker had "already said goodbye" ahead of a move to Shanghai.