Beijing Guoan continues to set the pace in the Chinese Super League following Tuesday's 5-2 win over Dalian Yifang, and it’s pretty easy to understand why. The five-star performance was spearheaded by a brace from former Villarreal star Cedric Bakambu, a goal from Spanish international Jonathan Viera and another by the man capped 31 times by Brazil, Renato Augusto.
The 30-year-old Augusto — who scored Brazil’s lone goal in the 2-1 defeat to Belgium during the quarterfinals of this summer’s World Cup — is a class apart when it comes to midfielders in the CSL.
The former Flamengo, Corinthians and Bayer Leverkusen standout showcased his individual brilliance with an outlandish piece of skill against Dalian Yifang. Here’s Augusto pulling off a beautiful double nutmeg inside his own half.
So what’s Augusto doing in China? He’s been there since January of 2016, and he loves it — he signed a four-year contract extension last year.
“I am happy here,” he said. “In the beginning it was a little more difficult to stay away from family and friends. It was a new country, new and different culture, a complicated language. But the adaptation was easy because I don’t lack for anything here. I live in the Chinese capital, a fantastic city and I can find anything here.
“It’s a metropolis, a big city where everything works and we can find everything. I enjoy going out for dinner with my wife. When I have some time between training and matches, we always try to discover something new because they have such a rich culture here.”
It doesn’t hurt that Augusto makes $6 million per year in Beijing, four times his salary with Corinthians in São Paulo.
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