The Newcastle United striker Papiss Cissé has left the club to join Chinese Super League club Shandong Luneng for an undisclosed fee.
The 31-year-old scored 44 goals in 131 appearances in four-and-a-half years with the club after joining from German outfit SC Freiburg in 2012.
“I want to put on record my thanks and appreciation for the Newcastle fans,” said Cissé on Twitter. “I will never forget them as long as I live and will be back as a supporter alongside them one day. I hope that the team are quickly back in the Premier League.”
The Italy and Southampton striker Graziano Pellè, who has one-year remaining on his current contract, has also been linked with a move to the Chinese Super League.
The forward, who will turn 31 next week, is understood not to have been offered a new contract by Southampton, who signed Charlie Austin from Queens Park Rangers in January.
