The 27-year-old signed for Villarreal last summer but made only 11 La Liga appearances this season.

On Monday evening Pato, who made his name at AC Milan, played for Corinthians and Sao Paulo in Brazil and later spent six months on loan with Chelsea, tweeted that he was "very happy to be part of the Tianjin Quanjian family.''

The recently promoted Chinese Super League club are managed by Italian World Cup winner Cannavaro and also boast Belgium international midfielder Axel Witsel in their squad.

Carlos Tevez, Oscar and John Mikel Obi are among the other stars plying their trade in China.

The nation's football association this month announced reforms which will see only three non-national players allowed per game.