Atletico Madrid have confirmed they have sold Jackson Martinez to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande for a reported €45m (£31m).
Martinez, 29, only joined Atletico Madrid from Porto for £24.8m Porto over the summer but has struggled to settle and there had been suggestions Diego Simeone had been trying to offload the striker in January.
The Colombia international was ominously overlooked by Simone on the substitute bench in favour of centre back Diego Godin when they were 3-1 down in the Copa del Rey to Celta Vigo last week, which suggested he had no future at the club.
Martinez has now become the latest footballer to leave Europe for China, and Atletico are expected to use the funds to attempt to re-sign Diego Costa from Chelsea in the summer.
“Thank my teammates, the coaching staff and the people working at the club for the trust they had in me and the effort they made so I could come here,” Martinez told the club’s official website.
“It has been an honour for me to be a part of his club, but I think the time has come to start another stage in my career. We have talked a lot in the last days and we have agreed that this is the best for all of us.”
Martinez only scored twice from 15 league games for Atletico this season, but his last goal was all the way back in October.
For more stats on Jackson Martinez, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
