Cristiano Ronaldo's Agent Says Chinese Super League Club Offered €300 Million

Chinese clubs are beginning to flex their financial muscles in an attempt to bring more prestige to the Chinese Super League, and according to Jorge Mendes, one club spared no expense to try to lure Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

Mendes, Ronaldo's agent, told Sky Sport Italia (via Goal.com) on Thursday that Real Madrid received a €300 million transfer offer, and Ronaldo received an offer worth over €100 million annually.

Over the past few years, the Chinese Super League has scooped up stars in the twilights of their playing careers, such as Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba.

More recently, though, the league has invested in younger players, such as Jackson Martinez (30), Hulk (30) and Alex Teixeira (26). On Dec. 23, Shanghai SIPG agreed to terms on a reported £60 million move for Oscar, per the BBC, while Carlos Tevez will be making £610,000 per week after signing with Shanghai Shenhua, according to Sky Sports' Paul Vinnell.

The Guardian's Graham Ruthven highlighted what will be a problem for the Chinese Super League, though, as it looks to attract the next tier of world-class players:

Since the quality of play is lower in China than it is in Europe's top leagues, CSL clubs have to go above and beyond financially to compete for marquee transfers.

For a player, moving to China would mean abandoning any hope of playing in the UEFA Champions League, and he'd likely struggle to get a call-up to his national team. Sebastian Giovinco, for instance, hasn't been able to get onto the Italy team as a result of playing in Major League Soccer, which is a step up from the Chinese Super League.

Ronaldo is coming off a 2016 in which he won the Champions League with Real Madrid and the Ballon d'Or. He's not going to give that up without receiving significant financial compensation.

And if €100 million per year isn't enough to get the job done, there comes a point where the club wouldn't be able to come anywhere close to recouping its investment.