Robben: Moving to China is like 'acknowledging your career is over'

It’s safe to say Arjen Robben won’t be heading over to China any time soon.

Like so many other footballers reportedly engaged in talks with Chinese Super League teams, Robben revealed he’s also been contacted over a lucrative move, but said he rejected an offer in favour of continuing his career at Bayern Munich.

Fresh off agreeing to extend his stay at Bayern until 2018, the Dutch winger had harsh words about the wave of players following the money trail to China and insisted he’ll continue playing top-flight football as long as he’s able to perform at a high level.

“I am having a great time here at Bayern and I am playing at one of the best clubs in the world. I would not know where to move at my age,” Robben said in an interview with Radio 538, according to Callum Davis of The Telegraph.

“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.”

While there’s been a number of players making the switch in the twilight of their careers, there’s also a significant amount who have moved to China as they enter what is widely regarded as their prime years.

Oscar, 25, may be the most talented player to join the Chinese Super League by completing a transfer to Shanghai SIPG, as Chelsea pocketed £60 million.

Despite his exorbitant weekly wages reaching £400,000, Oscar and other players his age, according to Robben, are wasting their talents by joining a league that’s shown a willingness to overspend in order to attract high-profile footballers who will likely blow away the local competition.

“I do not understand players going to China at the age of 27 or 28,” Robben said. “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.

“It is all about a certain madness that is ongoing in China right now. They are offering some crazy figures. I also got some offers. The money on show is so crazy that you at least have to consider it.

“They are offering maybe four, five or six times the amounts you get at a big club. But money has never driven me. That is why I have had such a great career. It is about football for me.”