Mignolet: Every Prem player tempted by Chinese transfer

Simon Mignolet: Regained Liverpool place

Simon Mignolet: Backed by Liverpool coach

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet claims the financial lure of moving to China is the talk of Premier League dressing rooms up and down the country.

With plenty of Premier League stars being lured to the Far East already, the astronomical wages on offer make the lure of moving to the Far East genuinely appealing.

But while Jamie Carragher and other pundits alike scoff at players for ‘selling themselves out’ by moving to China, Mignolet claims any player who insists they’re not interested in the move would be a liar.

Mignolet told the Sunday Mirror: “You would be a hypocrite to say we don’t speak about it because it’s a big topic. Everybody’s speaking about it.

“You see the money and of course you talk about it.

“I’m a keeper and I don’t think they want any keepers.

“I know the next question is would you go to China – and the only answer you can give is that you don’t know unless you get an actual proposal.

“You can’t weigh up the pros and cons until you actually receive an offer.”

The likes of Wayne Rooney and Diego Costa are expected to move to the Far East at the end of the season, while former Watford striker Odion Ighalo has used his Chinese wages to open an orphanage back home in Nigeria.

Speaking about Oscar’s decision to quit Chelsea for China last month, Carragher said:

‘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.

‘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 has 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 an 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?