In recent years, a number of famous foreign athletes have chosen to relocate to China to play for domestic teams. Yet, despite increased competitiveness, hikes in player salaries and local fans becoming die-hard supporters of their favorite clubs, Chinese teams still lag far behind European and North and South American franchises. One has to wonder why are some of sports’ biggest names playing in China. Are they at the end of their career and washed up? Are they making a financial decision and getting mega contracts? Or perhaps it’s something else? To answer this question let’s take a look at a few of the biggest international names playing in China to find out why they decided to make this transition.

1) Nicolas Anelka
French striker Nicolas Anelka, aka “Le Sulk”, has played for some of Europe’s most famous football clubs: Paris St. Germain, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. At the age of 33 and near the end of his career, he recently decided to leave the spotlight of Europe and enter the Chinese Super League to play for Shanghai Shenhua F.C. Making 12 million pounds per year here and personally stating that “there were no attractive offers in Europe,” Nicolas Anelka seems to have made a financial decision to play in China. Or has he?

During the writing of this article, reports surfaced that Anelka was negotiating his release from Shanghai to play for Queen’s Park Rangers back in England. According to an article in The Telegraph on December 17, Anelka allegedly wants to give up the final year of his lucrative Chinese contract (worth about seven million pounds) and return to this lesser known English club…for a lot less money. Although it’s rather obvious that Anelka initially came here for the cash, it seems he’s had enough, going on record that this season was “the biggest challenge of his career” due to the “rot eating away at the team” and also citing his failure as a coach and team captain to mold the group of inexperienced players into a winning team. Le Sulk, whose performance hasn’t met his salary expectations this season, clearly hasn’t enjoyed his experience in the Chinese Super League and is ready to move back to European football, even if it means taking a big pay cut.

2) Didier Drogba
The Ivorian striker made quite a career for himself back in Africa and Europe. He was awarded African Footballer of the Year in 2006 and 2009, is the fourth highest goal scorer all time at Chelsea F.C. and won two Primer League Golden Boot awards. Apart from his personal accomplishments, he helped his former English club Chelsea win the 2012 UEFA Cup and two FA Cups. But now Drogba, one of the greatest goal scorers of the past decade, has left his career in Europe to play for Shanghai Shenhua F.C.

There’s no doubt that Drogba’s decision was economic, since Shanghai Shenhua offered him an impressive 2.5 year contract worth 185,000 pounds per week. But he, just like his teammate Nikolas Anelka, has been frustrated to say the least. On December 18, The Guardian reported that Drogba had returned to practice with Chelsea to “stay sharp” for the African Cup of Nations in January 2013 and is trying to escape his Shanghai contract due to a managerial dispute over “unpaid wages.” With two of the biggest stars ever to play in China already trying to break their contracts and leave, it’s apparent that the Chinese Super League—which is notorious for unprofessionalism and corruption—isn’t ready for football’s biggest stars yet; no matter how much money is being promised by the club owners.

3) Tracy McGrady
Voted into the top 75 NBA players of all time and making the NBA All Star Team seven times, Tracy McGrady is widely considered one of the most dominant basketball players in history.
Over his long and distinguished career, the American national played for the Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptures, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks. But after suffering a few injuries, the once legendary McGrady fell into a slump and never really bounced back from it. In 2012, at 33 years old, he entered the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), signing a meager single year contract for one million USD to play for the Qingdao Eagles.

According to Andrew Crawford, a Chinese sports writer and Shanghai Shark blogger, McGrady is washed up and moved to China to play because he couldn’t get an offer in the NBA. It’s also apparent that McGrady didn’t come to China for the money since his salary is quite weak. So despite having a record smashing career in his early years and becoming a bench player averaging five points per game in his later years, he probably came to China to get one last chance in the spot light before he hangs his jersey up for good.

4. Stephon Marbury (Basketball- Beijing Ducks)
Another famous former NBA player, Stephon Marbury shined for the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics. During his successful tenure, the American was a two-time NBA All Star and made the All-NBA Third Team twice. Marbury has been playing in the CBA for several years now, first for the Shanxi Brave Dragons and then the Foshan Dralions. Now, however, he’s playing for the Beijing Ducks (a rising CBA powerhouse), helping them win the CBA championship in 2012.

Making about $25,000 USD per week may seem like a lot, but for a star like Marbury it’s actually quite low. In fact, he opted for a substantial pay cut to play in the CBA over the NBA when the Celtics were considering a deal to bring him back for $20 million USD per year! At age 35, he is past his prime (which is apparent in his jump shot), but it seems that for some odd reason Marbury just really wants to live in China, no matter how much money is on the negotiation table. When Marbury was asked about his reasoning, he stated that China is a place of “love, compassion and care.” Perhaps Stephon Marbury, like some China expats, has ended up loving his newfound Chinese life and is just more content residing here?

5. Maya Moor
The American women’s basketball star had a profound college career at UConn and plays for the US National Women’s Basketball Team. She also won Rookie of the Year in the WNBA and won a national title with the Minnesota Lynx. Moore recently signed with the Shanxi Flames, where she has greatly impacted the team, averaging a staggering 45 points per game! It’s speculated that if Moore keeps up her stellar performance, she’ll become the best woman’s player ever to dribble on a Chinese court.

Maya Moore is unique to this list for a few reasons. First, she’s a female athlete. Second, at 23 years old, she is not ending her career in China, but rather is here to help bolster her future career. Third, and most interestingly, Moore is playing for both the Shanxi Flames and the Minnesota Lynx simultaneously with the offset season; meaning she basically plays for the Flames when she’s not playing for the Lynx. Practice makes perfect, and with such dominance, Moore may well serve as an example for other male and female players alike to follow her footsteps and do the same to improve their game with year-round competition. Could the Chinese teams soon become the “second home” of some of the world’s greatest basketball players? It’s hard to say, but it’s definitely not out of the question.

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Keywords: foreign players in Chinese Basketball Association Foreign athletes in China foreign players in Chinese football clubs