Jackson Martinez believes his transfer to Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao was best for all concerned, after a disappointing spell at Atletico Madrid.

The Chinese Super League club secured a deal for the Colombia international Tuesday for a fee of 42 million euros ($45.9 million).

Martinez arrived at the Vicente Calderon for €35M ($38.3M) in July last year but failed to replicate his form for Porto in La Liga, scoring just three times for Diego Simeone's side in 23 appearances.

"It has been an honour for me to be a part of this club, but I think the time has come to start another stage in my career," the 29-year-old told the club's official website. "We have talked a lot in the last days and we have agreed that this is the best for all of us."

Martinez joins Luiz Felipe Scolari's side as a replacement for Elkeson, who was sold to Shanghai SIPG in what was described by the club as a boost to "the national glory", with Sven-Goran Eriksson's side competing in the AFC Champions League.

Guangzhou, meanwhile, have found themselves in hot water with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after being found guilty of a number of breaches of media and marketing regulations in relation to the AFC Champions League final in November.

The club has been fined $160,000 and ordered to play their first match of 2016 on February 24 behind closed doors, while the Chinese Football Association has been fined $10,000, with both warned over their future conduct.

"The breaches included filming the opponent's closed training session, conducting an unauthorised post-match ceremony, infringing upon the commercial rights of AFC sponsors and numerous violations in relation to the organisation of the second leg, including significant safety and security failures," an AFA statement said.