Former Newcastle United striker, Pappis Demba Cisse of Senegal, has become the latest high-profile international footballer to join the splash in making a career move to China.

Chinese Super League club Shandong Luneng announced on Saturday that the 31-year-old native of Dakar has signed up with the Jinan, Shandong-based football side from the St. James' Park-homed team. The monetary details of the Cisse's contract were not disclosed during the announcement.

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"I want to put on record my thanks and appreciation for the Newcastle fans," Cisse said on his Twitter account. "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."

According to Daily Nation, Cisse recorded a career score of 44 goals in 131 official appearances for the Magpies in which he played for four-and-a-half years after a three-year spell from the Bundesliga side SC Freiburg of Germany in the year 2012. With the German outfit, the Senegalese football star was able to set a club and league record for most goals scored by an African player in a single season, netting 22 goals.

Cisse joins Brazilians Ramires and Hulk, as well as Colombian football hotshot Jackson Martinez, in swapping European top-level football for the big spending Chinese league.

According to Xinhua, Shandong Luneng currently sits in the relegation zone of the top flight of Chinese football. The three-time CSL champion team has scored seven goals but conceded 16 goals in 10 matches.

TagsChinese Super League, Shandong Luneng Taishan FC, pappis cisse, Newcastle United FC, Bundesliga