Chinese Super League outfit confirms bid for Real Madrid star

The owner of Tianjin Quanjin has confirmed the Chinese Super League outfit made a bid for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema before new restrictions on foreign player recruitment forced them to scrap plans for a new striker.

Chinese Super League clubs have been making huge deals to sign players from all over the world this month and are still looking to bring some of the biggest names in world football to the Far East.

Tianjin Quanjin have already been heavily linked with a move for Chelsea striker Diego Costa and their owner, Shu Yuhui, has not only revealed they bid for Benzema, but also agreed contracts with Monaco striker Radamel Falcao and Benfica forward Raul Jimenez.

“Our club had a massive investment plan for the new season but it was tightened up by the new rules,” Shu told Tianjin Sports Channel, via AS. “We need an out-and-out striker so we made a bid for Benzema. We also made an attempt for Falcao.

“As a matter of fact, the club had even prepared the contracts for Falcao and Raul Jimenez. We had already reached an agreement with them on wages and bonus. The pair were expected to sign the contracts, but the new rules forced us to give up on them.”

Fabio Cannavaro’s side have already signed Axel Witsel this month and their pursuit of a world-class striker seems to be dead in the water ahead of the upcoming season.

Benzema has struggled for fitness this season and has only started 10 of their 17 league games this season, but has four goals in his last four appearances for Madrid in all competitions.

For more stats on Karim Benzema, click here to visit his WhoScored player page