Yannick Carrasco has suggested that he understands any criticism regarding his decision to leave Atletico Madrid for the Chinese Super League.

Carrasco had netted 23 goals in 124 appearances for the Spanish giants since July 2015, but a lack of outings during the current campaign resulted in a January switch to Dalian Yifang.

The winger has acknowledged that his decision may appear unusual, but says that he needed to gain some "momentum" ahead of potentially representing Belgium at this summer's World Cup.

The 24-year-old is quoted by Goal.com as saying: "There is always criticism in the world of football about if I had stayed or not. They are complicated decisions that have to be made in life. China is not exactly a league we know, but it's true that at Atletico I did not have too many minutes to play.

"For me, it was important to have momentum ahead of the World Cup that comes this summer."

Dalian currently sit at the bottom of the Chinese Super League after losing their first three games and failing to score a goal.