Newcastle United winger Christain Atsu has teasingly congratulated his Black Stars teammate Mubarak Wakaso on his move to Chinese Super League side Shenzhen FC, saying he can go go sleep over not facing iconic Lionel Messi again.
The future of Wakaso had been thrown into confusion after his former club Jiangsu FC went into administration due to financial constraints amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The former Deportivo Alaves midfielder joins Shenzhen on a free transfer which was announced on Monday by the club.
When Wakaso took to Twitter to announce the news, Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu jokingly replied, “Congrats my brother. God bless your new chapter .at least you will not face Messi again.”
The reference is in connection to a viral video in which Wakaso was mesmerized when tackling Lionel Messi during his days in the Spanish La Liga.
This is going to be Wakaso's biggest paycheque as he will earn 2 million dollars a year.
The Ghana international had not played actively for close to six months after football was shut in China due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
But he grabs a juicy offer - far better than the 1.5 million dollars a year he was supposed to have earned at Jiangsu Suning.
Given his age, this a massive retirement package for the combative midfielder.
He is expected to team up with compatriot Frank Acheampong, who has also joined the side on a similar duration.
The former Elche, Celtic and Panathinaikos enforcer has been capped 58 times and scored 12 goals.
Shenzhen is very ambitious - a a big-spending club who signed Alan Kardec as well - a Brazilian who played for Chongqing last season and who was one of the most prolific strikers in the Chinese Super League in recent years.