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China move unlikely for Costa and Aubameyang as new rules curb spending

The Chinese Football Association has implemented new laws that mean clubs must pay a 100 per cent tax on all foreign players they buy

A new spending rule in China makes it unlikely that players such as Diego Costa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be moving there this summer as the transfer window opens on Monday.

Any club that pays a transfer fee above €5.9 million (£5.1m) for a foreign player has to pay the equivalent amount to the Chinese Football Development Foundation, meaning anyone will essentially cost them double.

The Chinese Super League has become known for spending massive amounts of money in the last two years, with Shanghai SIPG signing Oscar for £60m in January and Hulk for £46.