Hebei China Fortune have officially announced the signing of Ezequiel Lavezzi from Paris Saint-Germain, releasing images of the Argentine signing his contract.
The former Napoli star was set to see his deal with the Ligue 1 champions expire this summer, and had been linked with a move to either Chelsea or Inter, as noted by The Daily Mail.
However, both European giants have missed out on the chance to sign the 30-year-old as he has now joined the exodus to the Chinese Super League.
Hebei announced the deal on Weibo and Wei Xin, and have now added Lavezzi to their squad to follow up the signings of Gervinho, Stephane Mbia and Gael Kakuta over the past month and a half.
The pacy winger appeared to be on the verge of a move to Shanghai Shenhua, but the club look set to sign Seattle Sounders striker Obafemi Martins instead with the Nigerian ace becoming their fifth foreign player and thus reaching the maximum number allowed.
CSL clubs are permitted to field three foreigners and one AFC player on the pitch at any one time, and so the Hebei will have to find a way of rotating in order to field all their star signings.
Nevertheless, the arrival of Lavezzi is another coup for the Chinese market, as they continue to spend significant money on growing the league as a whole. With the likes of Alex Teixeira and Jackson Martinez also moving to the East last month, it promises to be an interesting development process for the league as it continues to gain popularity and investment.
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