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Former Southampton captain Jose Fonte made his debut for Chinese Super League club Dalian Yifang on Saturday morning and let’s just say it didn’t go well.
Recently-promoted Dalian Yifang, who splashed out £50million to sign Fonte and Atletico Madrid pair Yannick Carrasco and Nicolas Gaitan, were thumped 8-0 by Shanghai SIPC.
Ex-Chelsea midfielder Oscar helped himself to a hat-trick after opening the scoring 28 seconds into the match, while former Brazil forward Hulk scored a penalty given away by - you guessed it - Fonte.
Winger Wu Lei also helped himself to a hat-trick as Fonte’s debut was abruptly cut short when substituted on 81 minutes. Lu Wenjun completed the scoring late.
Wanting to “win more trophies” following his success with Portugal in Euro 2016, Fonte left Southampton for West Ham United in January 2017.
However, Fonte’s fitness and form fell off a cliff while at the Hammers, making only 24 league appearances for the club before moving to China.
West Ham manager David Moyes claims Fonte wanted to leave for China to help his chances of featuring for Portugal in the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Judging by his debut in Chinese football, there may be some work for Fonte to do yet.