Australian football veteran Cahill joins Shanghai Shenhua

Sydney, Feb 3 : Australian football veteran Tim Cahill Tuesday joined Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua from New York Red Bulls.

His decision came just three days after Australia triumphed in the AFC Asian Cup, reports Xinhua.

His decision to leave the US Major League Soccer (MLS) surprised analysts as the 35-year-old attacking midfielder had recently received offers from England, Asia, the Middle East and Spain before announcing the move to China Tuesday.

Cahill told Fox Sports that he had consulted with former teammates and coaches in the US before making his decision to move to the Chinese team.

While he had received offers from around the world, there were none from Australia.

He promised to reward Shanghai Shenhua with total commitment.

"I respect Australian football so much, but I've never have had an official offer in the last two months," he said.

"I'll make an impact in China on the pitch, I promise you. When I go somewhere I'll do it properly.

"I'm at an age where I want to give back to football as well as play at a high level."

Cahill has spent the majority of his career in the English Premier League with Everton, scoring 68 goals in 278 games.

He then joined the New York Red Bulls in 2012 at the age of 32.

"I've done the Premier League, I've done America," he said. "New York was amazing for me, but China is a growing market in football." 

"It's all about doing what I want to do as footballer and trying different leagues, and I think it's exciting."