This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande have confirmed the signing of Jackson Martínez from Atlético Madrid for an Asian record fee of €42m (£32m).

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The Colombia striker joined Atlético last July from Porto for around €35m but struggled, scoring only two goals in 15 appearances, and his move east was confirmed by the Chinese league leaders on Twitter on Wednesday.

His agent, Jorge Mendes, began negotiations with Atlético on Monday evening but could not reach agreement, before the club agreed to sell Martínez late on Tuesday.

Guangzhou, whose recent acquisitions also include the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Paulinho, are managed by the former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and lead the Chinese Super League by two points after 30 matches.

Martínez’s move is the latest high-profile transfer to China, and follows the departure of Ramires to Jiangsu Suning from Chelsea for £25m last month.

The Chinese transfer window remains open until 26 February.