Yaya Toure is reportedly joining the exodus to China… but why?

The Telegraph claim the Ivorian midfielder could command an obscene £575,000-a-week contract, with the 32-year-old supposedly attracting the interest of three teams in China.

The four-time African Football of the Year’s future at City is in doubt due to the looming arrival of Pep Guardiola, the man who culled him from the Barcelona midfield in 2008.

Toure is the latest high-profile player to be linked to the Chinese Super League. Jackson Martinez joined Guangzhou Evergrande for £31m in the early hours of Tuesday – both an Asian transfer record and a January transfer window high – while Ramires swapped Chelsea for Jiangsu Suning in a £25m move.

Four of the five biggest transfers involved the Chinese Super League, with the emerging division only outspent by the Premier League. Make no mistake, China have arrived on the global football stage.

Martinez’s move sent a ripple of shock through European football, but he will not be in completely unfamiliar territory. Guangzhou are managed by Luiz Felipe Scolari, while fellow South Americans Paulinho and Robinho are on their roster.

There’s one big difference between the MLS and the Chinese Super League: the former attracts huge stars on the wane; the latter pays more for lesser-known stars closer to their peak. While the MLS protects its league with the ‘designated player’ rule, China is actively encouraging monster purchases.

Now, big businesses have become immersed in the sport, keen to cash in on the recent boom. President Xi Jinping has set a daunting task for the nation: to qualify, host and win a World Cup. Cue companies trying to jump on the bandwagon, in the knowledge that a success in sport will be looked upon favourably by politicians.

Guangzhou Evergrande were taken over by Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba in a reported 1.2 billion yuan (£114m) deal in 2014. Backed with financial muscle, it’s no wonder Toure is being linked with a money-spinning switch. Where else can you earn that sort of money in your 30s? Or at all, for that matter...

Super-agent Jorge Mendes has previously met with Alisports – an offshoot of Alibaba – CEO Zhang Dazhong. He’s since secured Martinez a move. Given his client list also boasts Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria and Thiago Silva, to name a few, it’s a particularly intriguing time to follow off-field developments in China.

"This is just merely beginning and the market is really vast and huge,” Zhang told the South China Morning Post, via a translator.

"Therefore I believe the target set by the Chinese government is very easy to be reached. As you know the consumption power in China is huge and gigantic – the consumption of sport is about to burst in China."

Of course, it’s human nature to want more money – especially when your career is nearing its twilight phase. Gazing from afar, criticising players for wanting a fat wedge, is ridiculous. It’s not our business.

But ditching a dream career for an early retirement in China? Toure is the commander of the City midfield, so even if – or more likely, when – he’s shunned by Guardiola, he could still move to another big team. Roberto Mancini has talked him up at Inter, while he could feasibly follow the reverse route of brother Kolo and bolster the Arsenal midfield. He’s 32, about the time box-to-box midfielders feel the strain, but there’s no need for this demotion just yet.

For all the talk of China being on the rise, it’s pulling power remains a financial one. The teams are still packed full of unproven national talent. The standard remains dwarfed by European football, and will presumably do so for many, many years.

Toure’s potential case is not as saddening as Martinez or Ramires, aged 29 and 28 respectively. Both were in their prime, and while struggling at Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, they did not need to pack it in.