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This article is part of Football FanCast's Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers...

Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele has admitted that a major motivating factor behind his move to China was the money on offer, per BBC Sport.

What’s the word?

The 32-year-old left Spurs in January to join Guangzhou R&F.

Of course, Mauricio Pochettino’s side went on to reach the Champions League final following the Belgian’s departure.

And, in a week that has been dominated by reports that Gareth Bale could earn over £1m-per-week in the Chinese Super League, Dembele has now confirmed that the wages on offer in the country had a considerable influence on his decision to move.

He said: "Money is a thing in moving here, of course.

"People who come here earn good money but it depends. If you come here only for the money and you don't enjoy the experience and lock yourself away in your hotel then it's bad.

"If you earn good money and you enjoy the culture then it's a good experience.”

Refreshing honesty

It’s about time a player was honest about their motivations.

Very few players move to the Chinese Super League for the quality of the football.

After all, it is not comparable to the Premier League, the Bundesliga or Serie A in terms of the overall ability of the playing squads.

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But Dembele, at the age of 32, has moved to a league where the pace is slower, where he has fewer demands placed upon him by the intensity of the game, and he appears to have earned himself a pay rise.

When he was at Spurs, he was an important cog in the machine, making 249 appearances.

But he is now winding down his career and his honesty is really rather refreshing. One imagines that few Spurs fans will begrudge him the move.

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