Oscar as a wasted talent? Instead of a higher level, he opted for a higher paycheck

There are countless promising talented youngsters in the football world and every year more and more names of guaranteed future stars are added. But out of the long list of good-looking kids who can handle the ball, only a select few make it this far. There are many more who, for various reasons, did not make it to the world and become football superstars. One of the latter group is Brazilian offensive midfielder Oscar.

Shock, amazement and often sadness flooded a multitude of not only Brazilian football fans when they learned at the very beginning of 2017 that the then twenty-five year old chic Oscar was leaving Chelsea for the Chinese Super League. It was hard to find a motive for the move other than more zeros on the paycheck.

At 20, Chelsea

Bred for big football in Sao Paulo, he moved to rival Internacional at eighteen, but like his previous employer, his footballing skills surpassed all. And so it took only two seasons for London Chelsea to tighten their lasso around the young playmaker.

Roman Abramovich did not hesitate to take 32 million euros from the club’s coffers for the 20-year-old youngster from Brazil, who is almost unknown in the European football market, and if we take into account that this transfer took place ten years ago, it is clear that it was a very solid sum indeed.

A great start in England

At Stamford Bridge, there was of course a certain amount of acclimatisation to a different, faster and tougher style of football. And yes in the Premier League it was a slower start, but in the Champions League it certainly wasn’t.

In the very first game he started in the starting line-up against the famous Juventus Torino and scored two goals, especially the second one which with a beautiful fake flew into the right-hand post of Buffon’s sanctuary, was an absolute exhibition. By the way, he finished the regular group with a record of 4+2 in 6 games.

Oscar, especially in his first two seasons in England, showed his talent for kicking the ball and, thanks to his versatility, was easily able to play on both wings when needed. Together with Juan Mata and Eden Hazard, they formed a wonderfully functioning midfield formation. In terms of numbers for the 2012/13 season, the Spanish virtuoso finished at 18+34, the Belgian wizard boasted a stat line of 13+23 and the Brazilian added a nicely balanced goal tally of 12+12.

Retreat from the scene

As time went on, however, the Sao Paulo native seemed to retreat from the spotlight. Eden Hazard, in particular, was taking over as the team’s main star, of course, and in his own way, the incoming Cesc Fabregas was also getting in his way, racking up an incredible 18 assists in his first season in the Premier League alone thanks to his pinpoint accurate passing.

Season after season, his performance not only got worse, but his numbers also got worse, and over time his relationship with the Blues fans cooled considerably.

An irresistible offer

At the time, Shanghai SIPG literally rushed in with a buyout offer, waving £500k a week in Oscar’s face. Hand on heart, turning down such a sum must be exceedingly difficult, so Neymar’s childhood friend didn’t bother and instead of offers from Juventus or Atlético Madrid, he nodded to the Chinese adventure.

He is still in Shanghai today and together with compatriot Hulk, they are taking the local league by storm. Many today hold the 30-year-old Oscar’s departure from European football in his prime somewhat against him.

However, his transparency towards the fans should be credited to the contrary. He didn’t hide or make up false reasons or excuses, but stated outright that he was thinking about financially providing for himself and his family after his active career was over, which hopefully the aforementioned money would be enough to do.

Sources: Transfermarkt, 90min, Goal