According to AS sources, the Chinese team Guangzhou Evergrande has contacted Gabi, captain of Atlético Madrid, with a spectacular offer of 23 million euros for three seasons - 7.6 million per year. A dizzying bid it seems for the Atlético midfielder whose contract ends in 2017 and who, in principle, is willing to renew with the club and president Enrique Cerezo.

Guangzhou, China's largest team since the Evergrande real estate company bought 60 percent of the club in 2010 for just 15 million dollars (the other 40 percent belonging to Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce leader), played in the FIFA Club World Cup as winners of the Asian Champions League and lost in the semi-final against Barcelona. Scolari is their manager and within their ranks Paulinho their highest-profile player. They also won the 2013 Asian title and other prestigious imports have included manager Marcelo Lippi and players Cannavaro, Gilardino and Diamanti.

This succulent proposal is not the only one Gabi has received recently. Several English Premier League clubs have looked at the option to add him to their squads in this winter transfer window. But unless he has a radical change of heart, it’s unlikely that Gabi will leave his Madrid team-mates. The midfielder very much identifies with Atlético and with the city of his birth, and he is not looking for new experiences, but instead, more success with Atlético.