Do you recall Dario Conca? You should, most likely. Lionel Messi, Argentine Conca, and Cristiano Ronaldo were the highest-paid football players in the world in the summer of 2011. At the time, Conca had recently led Fluminense, a Brazilian team, to their first Brazilian title since 1984, while Ronaldo and Messi were enjoying success on the biggest stages with Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. Consequently, before the Chinese Super League was popular, he was able to obtain a very profitable transfer to Guangzhou Evergrande in China.
After signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with Guangzhou on July 2, he moved to Asia and became the third-highest paid player in the world, behind just two of the greatest football players in history.
Dario Conca’s Guangzhou Contract
He earned £170,000-per-week
The Chinese Super League was willing to spend a lot of money on talented players in 2011, and Conca was one of those players, even though they weren’t quite ready to sign players like Oscar and Hulk yet. The Argentine became the third-highest paid footballer in the world when he signed a £170,000-per-week contract with Guangzhou. And Conca was well worth his money. He made 99 appearances throughout his three seasons with Guangzhou, tallying 54 goals and 37 assists.
However, he only stayed with the team for a short time; two years after signing the huge contract, he returned to Brazil and Fluminense in 2013. He rejoined Fluminense at the age of thirty, signing a deal that paid only £8,000 per week. However, a year later, the wealth of China enticed him once more. He was signed on to a contract of about £140,000 per week by Shanghai SIPG, which was then run by Sven-Goran Eriksson. Speaking highly of Conca, the late, great former England manager expressed his excitement over the signing to reporters:
“Conca is comparable to Messi. He is almost the same size, has a left foot, is an excellent dribbler, and scores a lot of goals. He was the player I desired the most when I first arrived here.
Before a cruciate ligament rupture slowed him down, Conca was once again a success in China, scoring 17 goals and dishing out 20 assists in 58 appearances for Shanghai before ending his career on loan at Flamengo and then playing in the USL Championship for the newly formed Austin Bold FC. He hung up his boots for good in 2019.
Dario Conca retires.
Was once third in the best-paid footballer list behind only Messi and Ronaldo after being an early mover to China. Salary at Guangzhou Evergrande was $12.5m per year https://t.co/6jKQYYq9A9
— Ed Malyon (@eaamalyon) April 23, 2019
In 2019, the 41-year-old declared his intention to retire from football in order to pursue a career as a professional golfer. Conca discussed his decision to retire and his future plans with GloboEsporte.com as he stepped away from football. “I’ve gained a lot from football,” he remarked. I adore this line of work; it was great for me, but I believe the time has come for me to retire.
“Today, football was not on my mind. I’m really appreciative of all that it brought me, including the recognition and career I was able to establish. It allowed me to realise the childhood ideal I had, with my entire family supporting me. I’m a part of it. I gave this amazing career my all; it’s great, but an hour is over.
“I’ve already begun playing golf; I’ve always wanted to learn new sports. I’ve always been drawn to golf, and now that I have more time, I want to do something that inspires me to overcome myself. I’d want to play golf. Every player experiences the urge to compete and to constantly strive for daily improvement. As with another sport, let’s begin as a joke. Then we’ll find out. We’ll see how far we can go when I try my hardest, get ready, and practice.”
Now let’s talk about the golf. Conca can be seen playing golf in a number of pictures and videos, and it’s easy to understand why he didn’t pursue a career in the game. When we see a dodgy swing, we can recognise it.
https://www.instagram.com/concaoficial/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=78b4a2dc-fe32-4ba5-83c6-bf812027533f
Away from his golf attempts, one thing you’ll instantly observe is that Conca has very much maintained himself in shape. At the age of 41, the former footballer possesses a body better than most contemporary footballers. He’s posted a number of exercise videos and is probably in better shape today than when he was playing. Fair play to him!
He’s very much a family man, too. The majority of his posts are dedicated to his wife, Luiza Lara Conca. She appears to be a dietician and has an equally great physique like her husband. They also appear to have two kids together.
https://www.instagram.com/concaoficial/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=5771a9ef-a638-4646-b717-3fa7ef313829
Conca also seems to enjoy travelling and visiting some of the most breathtaking locations on earth. Even though he may not have been a successful professional football player or golfer, he seems to be content with his life despite earning an absurd amount of money from the game. Congratulations, Dario Conca.
