Chelsea announce £60 million Oscar transfer to Shanghai SIPG

Oscar will complete his move from Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG in January, the Premier League leaders have announced.

The deal will see Oscar, 25, massively increase his £90,000-a-week wages at Stamford Bridge and become the Blues' record sale at £60 million, according to ESPN FC sources, eclipsing the £50m fee received from Paris Saint-Germain for David Luiz in the summer of 2014.

The fee will be the fourth-largest ever paid to a Premier League club. The current world record is the £85m Real Madrid paid to Tottenham Hotspur for Gareth Bale in 2013, exceeding the £80m Manchester United charged the Spanish giants for Cristiano Ronaldo four years earlier. Liverpool sold Luis Suarez to Barcelona in 2014 for £65m.

Chelsea said in a statement on their official website: "We thank Oscar for his wonderful service and wish him the very best of luck for the future."

Oscar joined Chelsea from Brazilian club Internacional for £25m in the summer of 2012 and made 203 appearances in all competitions for the Blues, scoring 38 goals and winning the Premier League, Europa League and League Cup during four-and-a-half seasons at Stamford Bridge.

But the Brazil international had not started a Premier League match since September and increasingly became viewed as surplus to requirements following head coach Antonio Conte's successful switch to a 3-4-3 formation.

He told the Chinese club's official website: "I'm very happy to sign for SIPG. This is an important day for me to join my new family in China. Thanks to everybody as SIPG and I cannot wait to meet you at the club and to win new titles."

Last week a source close to Oscar told ESPN FC that the player was weighing up a lucrative offer from Shanghai SIPG, who are coached by former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas and also boast fellow Brazilians Hulk and Elkeson. 

And speaking after Chelsea's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, teammate Willian confirmed to ESPN Brasil that Oscar had said goodbye to the rest of the Blues squad as he prepared to complete the move.

"He's a good friend and a great player," Willian said of Oscar. "I wish him and his family all the best. A footballer's career can be quick, and when an offer like this comes in you have to think of your family. You want to be prepared for when you have to stop playing."