Paul Gascoigne lasted four months, Shane Smeltz went home after just five days. So how much of Nicolas Anelka's two-year contract with Shanghai Shenhua will the former France international actually serve?
The Chelsea striker will become the Chinese Super League's biggest signing when he joins the club next month, earning a reported US$300,000 a week.
But, as history has shown, big-name foreign imports do not always easily adapt to life in China.
In 2003, former England international Gascoigne signed a nine-month contract with Gansu Tianma, but left before the halfway point, having played just four matches.
After scoring for New Zealand in the 2010 World Cup, Smeltz secured a lucrative two-year deal with Shandong Luneng Taishan. But the two-time A-League Golden Boot winner flew back to his base on Australia's Gold Coast within a week, reportedly because of concerns about how his young family would adapt to life in Jinan.
During his 15-year professional career, Anelka has been somewhat nomadic, playing for nine clubs in four countries while making almost 500 league appearances. But the move to Shanghai is likely to provide him considerable challenges, on and off the field.