Cristiano Ronaldo will not accept the offer of a new challenge in Asia, not for all the tea in China it would seem.

The three-time Ballon D’Or winner reportedly received a mega-bucks offer from an unnamed Chinese Super League Club, believed to be worth £86million a year in wages, but the Portuguese knocked them back and pledged his future to Real Madrid instead, saying that 'there is more to life than money'.

Never one to conform to type, Ronaldo is bucking the recent trend of overseas stars chasing the Yuan and moving to China.

Ex-Chelsea star Oscar started his new life in the Far East with a goal on his debut for Shanghai against Saudi Arabian club Al-Batin in a friendly on Monday, and has confidently predicted that his new paymasters can continue with their ambitious plans as they bid to build a product that can rival the Premier League, citing the friendliness of the country's people as one of the upsides to the move.

A hefty pay packet is an obvious benefit too, but the rapidly developing League is set to be a financial game-changer for all involved, particularly bookmakers as the presence of so many well-known overseas stars is sure to drive interest in a relatively new market. Why not have a go now and see if you can cash in yourself by taking a punt on some of the matches? Bettors looking to expand their bets would be wise to start to look into Chinese football.

The hope is that the People’s Republic will embrace ‘the People’s Game’ and take it to their hearts in the same way that Europeans do.

Oscar’s arrival and that of other stellar signings such as Carlos Tevez has certainly caused excitement and China’s Super League only appears to be heading in one direction: up.

Shanghai Shenhua recruit Tevez can count former Premier League players, Demba Ba and Obafemi Martins, amongst his team-mates, while there is a proliferation of South American players scattered elsewhere throughout the League.

Brazilians Hulk, Ramires and Paulinho, Colombian striker Jackson Martinez and Argentine forward Ezequiel Lavezzi are all part of the Chinese football revolution, with many more tipped to join them.

Oscar’s former boss at Chelsea, Antonio Conte, fired out a warning to players contemplating a move to China that they would miss the pride and competitiveness that the Premier League brings. But that didn’t stop Oscar upping sticks and others will surely follow.

While John Terry does not immediately come across as the sort of person who’d embrace such a different culture, you wouldn’t blame the former England captain landing one last big pay day.

Terry won’t be offered an extension to his present contract when it expires in the summer. And as he has already said he wouldn’t consider playing for another Premier League club, the power-brokers in the Chinese Super League are likely to be on red alert.