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Martinez joins Guangzhou Evergrande for £31.7m

Colombia striker Jackson Martinez has joined Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande from Atletico Madrid for an Asian transfer record £31.7m.

Martinez has left Atletico Madrid for Guangzhou Evergrande. Credit: Reuters

The 29-year-old has signed a four-year deal with the Super League side, who confirmed the fee was 42 million euros.

Martinez, who was linked with a January move to Tottenham, only joined Diego Simeone's Atletico in the summer following a prolific spell at Porto, but has scored just two La Liga goals.

He joins up with former Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, who has guided Guangzhou to the top of the Super League, two points clear of Shanghai East Asia.

Martinez becomes the latest player to join the Chinese league from a European heavyweight club following Ramires' £25m switch to Jiangsu Suning from Chelsea. Yaya Toure and John Terry have also been linked with moves in the summer

In a statement on Atletico's website, Martinez said:

It has been an honour for me to be a part of this club, but I think the time has come to start another stage in my career. We have talked a lot in the last days and we have agreed that this is the best for all of us.

– Jackson Martinez