Alex Teixeira: I wanted Liverpool move but Chinese offer was too good to turn down

Teixeira was the subject of a £24 million offer from Liverpool during the transfer window but, after the Premier League side were put off by Shakhtar Donetsk's increased demands, the Brazilian ultimately joined Jiangsu Suning on Friday for £38m - a new Asian transfer record.

The 26-year-old became just the latest high-profile name to move to China in a big-money transfer, following the likes of Jackson Martinez and Ramires - who will now play alongside him at the Chinese Premier League side. That led to accusations on social media that the forward had moved solely for the money, a perception that the player did little to dispel in a farewell interview with the Ukrainian club.

"Let's put it like this: everyone always knew that I wanted to stay in Europe and move to the English Premier League club," Teixeira said.

"But, unfortunately, all the proposals that came from them, were somewhat windy (tentative) and did not contain anything concrete. Now I have received a serious offer from China."

Teixeira admitted that the move might affect his hopes of a call-up to the Brazilian national side, something he had previously also spoken of as being a major ambition.

"At this stage, Brazil national team will move away from me a little further," he added. "But let's see what happens in the future!"

The attacker, who won the league title five times during his stay at the Donbass Arena, revealed that it did not take long to complete a deal once Jiangsu showed their interest.

"It all happened very quickly, in just a twinkling," he said. "I was at the airport, going to (Shakhtar's) training camp venue (in Spain). And my agent phoned me up. He said that Shakhtar had received a €50m offer. I immediately wondered whether it would be good for me, my family, the club, and took the appropriate decision.

"I checked out the city and the location I am moving to on the internet ... I consulted with my wife the most. She supported my decision."

Asked if he had any regrets about leaving Shakhtar, Teixeira added: "I wanted to make it to the English Premier League one day. But until now, all my thoughts have been focused on Shakhtar. As I said, everything happens so fast that I don’t even have time to realise it."

Teixeira said that he hopes to lead Jiangsu Suning to a title in China, while being the league's top scorer and one of its most influential players. But he did leave the door open to a return to European football in future.

"I experienced many happy moments at Shakhtar," he said. "I won various trophies and people’s respect alike.

"Now I'm ready to move to the new goals and discoveries in my life. Maybe someday I will come back, as no one knows their destiny."