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The rise of the Chinese Super League has been a curious story in world football for a few years now. The money involved in the country has tempted many players to make the move from top European leagues: it has become an alternative version of the MLS in the U.S.A., a place to make a lot of money and play less stressful football.
The Chinese, however, do not want it that way and they fully envision their league being one of the best in world football in a short while.
For now, though, the standard of the football just isn't good enough to merit some quality players leaving for China. Recall the unfortunate example recently of Carlos Tevez, who moved to Shanghai Shenhua for 1 season, became one of the richest footballers in the world, then publicly condemned the league and the standard of play before fleeing back home to Argentina.
He was supposed to be one of the stars of the league, a player to attract similar talents to China but he was not shy in admitting that he had treated the whole thing like a holiday.
This is unfair to the Chinese, the fans most importantly, who deserve a quality league to match their appetite for the game, but as it stands, good footballers are wasting their time in the country.
They value the incredible wages on offer, naturally, but if they value their careers, they'd do well to return to European football, at least for a while. With that being said, this slideshow will look at 5 players in the CSL who should make such a move back to Europe:
#5 Cedric Bakambu (Beijing Guoan)
The most recent example, Bakambu's is a particularly sorry case. Outside of the big two teams in Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid, Bakambu has been one of La Liga's best forwards for a few seasons now.
He scored 12 in his first season with Villarreal, 11 the next; he even increased his goals per game ratio during this campaign until January, slamming home 9 goals in just 12 appearances.
His talent came to the attention of those in the Far East and when Beijing arrived with an offer last month, Bakambu rescinded his contract with his Spanish club and made the move. Bakambu turns 27 in April and is at his peak; to spend it in an inferior league, against weaker defences who won't challenge the striker as much, seems to be poor judgment.
The DR Congo international has scored goals wherever he's played, from France to Turkey, and he certainly won't stop scoring in China.
The unfortunate difference that separates Bakambu from, say, David Villa, is that he had experienced success and the height of his career in Europe before heading elsewhere (to New York City FC); Bakambu has yet to win a major league trophy and it seems likely he never will.
There would have been many Premier League teams interested in a physical, imposing forward like Bakambu, so perhaps he could be tempted back from China in the summer if he inevitably keeps up his current form.
#4 Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian)
It seems like Witsel has been on the radar of big European clubs for years now, but the rangy midfielder is still only 29.
Before moving to Tianjin in 2017, the Belgian had been playing for Zenit St Petersburg in Russian football for 4 seasons, winning the league title in 2015. A tall, elegant central midfielder with good passing ability, Witsel seemed destined to make the move to one of top 5 European leagues.
Chelsea were interested in acquiring his services a season ago but he moved to China. It's not hard to imagine Witsel offering a nice balance to the all-action defensive style of N'Golo Kante had he moved to England instead.
Strikers often enjoy moving to less difficult leagues because it usually means they have more chances than they would in Europe due to weaker defences, meaning more goals as a result, but for a midfielder, sometimes the action isn't as intense as they're used to and relish.
Andrea Pirlo looked lost during a lot of MLS games during his time at New York City FC, for instance.
In a World Cup year too, it's imperative that Witsel impresses Belgium manager Roberto Martinez to make the squad. He's been a starter for his country for almost a decade now, but one can't help to think that playing in Europe would have helped his chances more.
Witsel will have to really stand out from China if he's to continue as a first team member for his national side.
#3 Hulk (Shanghai SIPG)
Unlike his South American compatriot Carlos Tevez, Brazilian forward Hulk hasn't been content to sit back and accept his large payday in China. Since moving to Shanghai, he's struck home 21 goals in 34 appearances.
This isn't surprising when one considers the player's European career: upon arriving with Porto in Portugal in 2008, Hulk managed to reach double figures for goals in 7 of his 9 seasons on the continent.
Much of this came as a right winger, making the achievement even more remarkable. Hulk was a full Brazilian international when he arrived in Chinese football but he hasn't made an appearance for his country since.
As a starter for Brazil at the last World Cup in 2014, Hulk would have been hoping to make the next one but that looks highly unlikely. At 32, perhaps, he only had 1 or 2 more seasons left in his body, but he never got to test himself against the best defences in Italy or England - something which can still be rectified.
#2 Anthony Modeste (Tianjin Quanjian)
Another striker in top form, Modeste had suffered an unfortunate blip in his career in 2012 when he couldn't manage to score in 9 appearances in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers but he bounced back in style, becoming one of the Bundesliga's most feared forwards.
In his last 2 seasons in German football with FC Koln, Modeste smashed 40 goals in 68 league appearances. The Frenchman has only moved to Tianjin on loan at the moment, but there is an option to buy, once the loan deal expires.
Modeste was seemingly on the up in his career and at 29, and appeared to be right at his peak but he won't get to see how far he could truly go, playing in the Chinese Super League.
He also was another striker who never won a major honour while in Europe, and perhaps there will be a small part of him that would like another chance in England to show the fans what he can do. With 7 goals in his first 8 appearances for his new side, perhaps he'll get that opportunity in the summer.
#1 Oscar (Shanghai SIPG)
The most naturally gifted footballer on this list, it came as shock to many when Oscar departed Chelsea in 2016 for Shanghai. The fee was believed to be around $60 million and his wages astronomical.
Oscar had endured a difficult start to the 2016/2017 Premier League season, admittedly, not getting a chance in Antonio Conte's first team, but at 26, time was on his side to fulfil all his youthful promises.
He was a vital part of the midfield when Chelsea won the league in 2014/2015. He had an excellent 12 goals in 47 appearances for the Brazilian national team, despite mostly playing as the playmaker.
Arriving at the same time as Neymar and Philippe Coutinho, the 3 attackers were supposed to herald a new great generation of Brazilian football, but it looks like only the other 2 will be helping their country at this year's World Cup in Russia.
He has a paltry 3 goals in 22 league appearances for his new club and has been involved in high-profile fighting with opposition players, so all is not clearly well for the player in China.
Oscar also does, given his age and talent, have the best chance of returning to European football and making a success of it, and any neutral fan should hope that a player with such immense quality does.
