Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has confirmed that he is set to leave the club to join Tianjin TEDA with a reported £140,000-a-week offer on the table.
The 29-year-old has been at Stamford Bridge for a decade and has made 374 appearances for the club while winning 11 major trophies during his time with the Blues.
However, as confirmed on his official Twitter account on Friday morning, he is set to leave west London and start a new challenge in China as he joins a whole host of top European players moving to the Far East on a lucrative deal.
According to the Evening Standard, the Nigeria international will pen a contract worth £140,000-a-week over three years, and will undergo a medical today before completing the switch.
It will be a significant improvement on his current wages at Chelsea of around £85,000-a-week, as he now looks forward to joining former teammates Oscar and Demba Ba in China having reportedly turned down the likes of Valencia, Marseille and Inter.
Having failed to feature under Antonio Conte so far this season, an exit was always the most likely outcome for Mikel, but there was always question marks over what he would decide to do next.
As with so many players currently plying their trade in Europe, he has decided on the Chinese Super League, which is continuing to get stronger and will be threatening to be a real force in world football before long.
Nevertheless, it will be an emotional time for Mikel given how long he has spent at Stamford Bridge, and as he reflected on his time with Chelsea in the lengthy post seen below, the time is certainly right for both parties to move in their separate directions.
A letter to my Chelsea family. ??? pic.twitter.com/FhcUyq3iaV
— Mikel John Obi (@mikel_john_obi) January 6, 2017