Borussia Dortmund announced that the Paraguayan has sealed his switch to the Asian giants.
Guangzhou Evergrande are managed by the World Cup winning Italian coach Marcelo Lippi. The Club are the current title holders of the Chinese Super League and have done well in the AFC Champions League. The team
is somewhat unknown in Europe but have now appeared on the footballing scene after the announcing the capture of Lucas Barrios.
In recent times the Chinese club has invested in foreign players, South Americans to be precise. Lucas Barrios’ signing follows the capture of Argentine Dario Conca, and Brazilian Cleo.
Evergrande paid a reported £9.7m to Borussia Dortmund for the Paraguayan strikers’ services. The transfer fee is huge for a club of Evergrande’s stature. Barrios signed a four year contract, which will enable him to pocket around
£ 5.39 million a year.
The striker expressed his delight at joining the Chinese giants and is optimistic about his stay at the club. The former Black Yellows’ played expressed his desire to fire his new team to Champions League glory.
"I am extremely happy to come to Evergrande and to China. I am also looking forward to showing my ability in the AFC Champions competition," he is quoted as saying in an interview.
The 27-year old was the Dortmund club’s top scorer, scoring a total of 21 goals in 41 apperances in the 2010-2011 season. He also fired his club to two successive Bundesliga titles. A long-term injury forced him to spend a long
time on the sidelines, and lost his starting spot to the Polish starlet Robert Lewandowski, who kept him out of the side by being Bundesliga’s top scorer.
The Paraguayan will be criticised by many pundits for being less ambitious and opting for an easier option by signing a lucrative contract in China.
The signing of Lucas Barrios follows the capture of Nicolas Anelka by Shanghai Shenhua. The recent acquisitions of big name signings and foreign players are a signal towards the changing image of the Chinese Super League and Asian
football, which have not reached the same heights as their European equivalents.
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