Brazilian Hulk has spoken of his wish to play in England, claiming he is a big fan of the football there.
The Shanghai SIPG striker has three years left on his contract but he hopes to play in the English football league sometime.
The star striker moved to the Chinese Super League club from Zenit St Peterburg, breaking the Asian record then. The 30-year old agreed to the move with SIPG shelling out €55 million for the transfer fee.
Hulk says he has always dreamt of playing in the Premier League as it is “very competitive with packed stadium” no matter the teams involved. He admitted that since his time at FC Porto there has always been speculation linking him with a move to a Premier League side.
“My life took another direction away from English football. I have three more years on my contract, but I might leave before. I would be very happy because of my admiration for English football,” Hulk added.
The striker had a slow season last year after picking up an injury from the very first match. He picked up pace this year and has scored eight goals in all competitions for the club. Under the tutelage of Andre Villas-Boas and with compatriots Oscar and Elkeson, he seems to be flourishing in China, yet he dreams of England.
SIPG place second on the league standings. They are in the last 16 of the AFC Champions League and are generally faring well. They are poised to play Shanghai Shehua in the Chinese Super League this weekend.
Recently, Hulk was in the news for a bad reason. Former Guizhou Zhicheng manager Li Bing accused him of punching one of his assistant during a row but SIPG denied it strongly.