Marko Arnautovic completed his move to Shanghai SIPG earlier this week for a reported fee of £23 million. West Ham United reportedly agreed the ‘terrible deal’ this summer as Manuel Pellegrini, the players and officials at the club wanted him out as soon as possible.
Reports suggested that the Austrian striker forced the Hammers to accept the offer. The former Stoke City star wanted to leave in January as well but performed a U-turn after they asked him to stay.
Now, with the move completed, the striker is not happy with the way the media have reported the move. He claims that there was a lot going on behind the scenes and that was the reason for him to leave West Ham.
He said, “They do not train with me, they do not play with me, but they just write something. Maybe that’s the characteristic of European media, the truth is that I always give everything to my team, I never spare myself. I’m here to work hard, I want to do my part so the club can achieve all of its goals.”
Arnautovic joins former Chelsea star, Oscar and former FC Porto powerhouse, Hulk at the Chinese Super League side. His new side are currently 3rd in the CSL table – 5 points behind leaders, Bejing Guaon but have a game in hand.
Shanghai SIPG face 6th placed Jiangsu Sainty on Saturday.