Why are so many good footballers moving to China? 

It won't have slipped your notice that money talks in the world of football and there is a new kid on the block when it comes to splashing the cash.

Over the course of the past 12 months Jackson Martinez, Ramires, Oscar and Alex Teixeira have all moved to the Chinese Super League for a combined total of £150million.

While big names joining clubs outside Europe is nothing new, the key difference between the current crop heading to China and those packing their bags for places like America or the Middle East is that Martinez, Oscar and Teixeira are far from ageing stars.

All three of them had either been linked with or were playing for the best clubs in the Premier League before being tempted east by greater riches.

In the words of Arsene Wenger, European football should be “worried” about China.

Why is it happening?

In a nutshell: because the state wants it to.

Never one to turn a blind eye to a useful tool for propaganda, the most powerful people in China have recently identified football as a major growth region - a way to show their country's sporting might on a truly global platform, while also creating a relatively fresh industry to tap into China's consumer culture.

The slight fly in the ointment is that the Chinese football team is not very good.

The national team have qualified for just one World Cup finals in 2002 and - currently ranked one spot below St Kitts and Nevis in 81st position in the Fifa rankings - they are already struggling to make it to Russia in 2018. Yet China is set on hosting a World Cup in the not too distant future. So the question is, how can the reality match the vision?

On the one hand, President Xi Jinping has called for a huge transformation of grassroots football in China, visiting Manchester City’s new training complex during his state visit in October 2015 in a bid to underline his commitment to the sport.

A number of schemes have been put in place to increase participation in football among young people, capturing the attention of local government officials, who are increasingly aware of an impending health crisis over growing levels of obesity in the country.

On the other hand Xi wants (and needs) to boost the profile of his country's top-flight football league. And that is where money comes in.

Encouraged by Xi’s plan for state and private investment to double the size of the Chinese sporting economy by 2025, more global sporting figures are increasing their links with China.

Jose Mourinho has previously visited Shanghai with his agent Jorge Mendes, who is understood to have sold a significant stake in his Gestifute business to a Chinese investor. Elsewhere, Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour has sold a 13 per cent stake in his £2billion football business to investors from the emerging superpower in the form of China Media Capital.

Chinese investors were already in control of a number of European clubs including Slavia Prague in the Czech Republic and French club Sochaux, before Chinese businessman Xia Jiantong took ownership of Aston Villa in the summer of 2016.

The key in all of this investment is the link between private corporations and the state. The £265million private investment in Manchester City was state-backed, as is the overwhelming majority of footballing spending in the country. Powerful people have cash to burn, Xi has identified football as an area to spend it in and the result is a lot of money changing hands internationally.

As Chinese football expert Chris Atkins told Sky Sports: "The Government is keen to establish a more balanced economy based upon more than just manufacturing, with sports and entertainment industries seen as areas for investment. In China, companies are reliant on good relationships with the authorities and therefore are often inclined to help with initiatives seen as in the national interest."

What effect is it having? 

As discussed by Sam Wallace in his piece on China's economic powerhouse spreading its footballing reach, the coach of former Brazilian champions Corinthians, Tite, was frank about his club’s defence of their 2015 Brasileirão Serie A title, which saw them sell four of their leading players to Chinese Super League clubs.

“China screwed us,” said Tite. “Keeping big players raises the standard but, unfortunately the reality for us has been different.”

There are around 30 top Brazilians currently in the Chinese top-flight alone, as well as Luiz Felipe Scolari, formerly the coach of the national side. Mano Menezes, another former Brazil national team coach, took charge of Shandong Luneng last year, while a third former Brazil coach, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, guided Tianjin Quanjian to the Chinese Super League in 2016.

However, the major change over the past 12 months has been the shift from signing relatively unknown Brazilians from South American clubs to attracting high-profile names from leading European sides. If Chinese clubs have their way, the likes of Oscar and Tevez will be just the tip of the iceberg with Yaya Toure understood to have turned down £430,000-a-week offer to move to an unnamed Chinese Super League club. 

Despite Diego Costa missing out on a move to Tianjin Quanjian in the January transfer window, it expected that the Chinese club will renew their interest in the Chelsea striker this summer. 

What is life like in Chinese football? 

The president's sudden interest in boosting the profile of the Chinese Super League is not currently matched by the country's masses, but that is not to say that changes are not sweeping in. As is the case in the majority of "lesser footballing nations" around the world, interest in the big foreign leagues far outweighs that of the local top flight.

"Football is on the TV all the time here, not just the Premier League or the Champions League, but all the European leagues," says Shenzhen FC manager Sven Goran Eriksson.

But while European football is king, any impression that Chinese top flight games are played in soulless, empty stadiums would be incorrect.

The league's average attendance during the season before last stood at around 22,000 (a 17 per cent increase on the previous season), with targets to double that number over the course of the next decade.

On the field there are a number of rules in place to promote growth among Chinese players. All goalkeepers in the top flight must be Chinese and there can be no more than three foreign players, plus one from other countries affiliated to the Asian Football Confederation, on the pitch at any one time.

Where could this end? 

As reported by the Telegraph's Ben Rumsby, China’s government has ordered a clampdown against “irrational investment” and vowed to “regulate and restrain high-priced signings and make reasonable restrictions on players’ high incomes”.

However, despite the statement from an unnamed spokesman of the General Administration of Sport, clubs in China continue to make huge offers for Europe's top talent. 

Arsene Wenger has admitted he is concerned that the huge wages on offer to players from clubs in China could become a benchmark for the Premier League's top talent.

"That's the danger, that the Chinese offers become the benchmark for Europe. You cannot compete with that," said Wenger.

But the Arsenal manager believes the opportunity to play within Europe's top five leagues will always be the pinnacle of a footballer's career.

In a recent interview, Arjen Robben said he could not understand players moving to the Chinese Super League in their late 20s.

"A transfer to China would be something else entirely. That is basically acknowledging your career is over. I want to keep playing at the highest level as long as possible," said Robben. 

"I do not understand players going to China at the age of 27 or 28. Those guys are at the peak of their career. That is a waste really. You only get one career. I sort of understand players who are already in their 30s."

Despite the obvious lure of unprecedented pay packages, Arsene Wenger is confident Europe - and the Premier League - will remain the aspiration for most footballers.

"My thought is that when you want to be a football player, your first aspiration is to play in the best league, against the best players. That has to be the first target.

"After that when you are a professional football player you want to combine the fact you can play in the best league, against the best players, for the maximum amount of money."