Nandu News Reporter Tao Xinlei landed! On the afternoon of August 11, Beijing time, Shanghai seaport official Xuanwulei returned. The benchmark figure of Chinese football will return to the starting point of his dream to continue his career.
Shanghai Harbor unveils welcome poster.
At the end of July, the news that Wu Lei will return to the Chinese Super League has flowed out one after another, and then confirmed by the players themselves. Domestic media said that Wu Lei returned, and family was the most important factor. The Spanish media "Marca" revealed that Wu Lei's departure was actually related to the purge of the Espanyol club.
On January 29, 2019, Wu Lei took a photo in the home stadium of Espanyol. On the same day, Wu Lei, a Chinese player who joined La Liga Espanyol, met with the media and fans for the first time in Barcelona. After joining Espanyol, Wu Lei was called "the hope of the whole village" by fans. Xinhua News Agency
Wu Lei joined Espanyol in January 2019 for a transfer fee of 2 million euros, and during his time with Espanyol, Wu Lei made a total of 126 appearances, scoring 16 goals (including 8 in two and a half seasons in La Liga), and 6 assists. On January 5, 2020, Wu Lei scored a perfect goal against Barca.
On March 12, Espanyol player Wu Lei was in the game. On the same day, in the 28th round of the 2021-2022 Spanish Football League, Espanyol drew 1-1 with Levante away from home. Xinhua News Agency
According to luo Ming, a veteran media personality in international football, there are only two Asian players who have scored more goals in La Liga than Wu Lei in history: Iranian Nekonan played 6 seasons in Osasuna, scoring 24 goals; The Japanese have also played 6 seasons in La Liga, scoring 16 goals in Eibar and Alaves; Another Iranian, Shujae, played five seasons in Osasuna, scoring eight goals as Wu Lei.
Wu Lei is from Genbao's youth training, and at the age of 14 and 10 months, he made his debut in the Second Division for Shanghai East Asia (the predecessor of Harbor Club), setting a record for the youngest player in the history of Chinese professional football leagues.
On November 21, 2018, Shanghai SIPG player Wu Lei (center), who won the Best Scorer Award, took a profile photo at the 2018 Ping An Chinese Super League awards ceremony. Xinhua News Agency
Before playing for Espanyol, Wu Lei made 218 appearances for Shanghai Harbor, scoring 120 goals and 66 assists. In the six seasons of the Chinese Super League, he scored a total of 102 goals, the most goalscored player in the history of the Chinese Super League, Wu Lei won the title of the best scorer in the Chinese Super League for five consecutive years, in the 2018 season, he was elected "King of Scorers" and the Best Player of the Year with 27 Goals in the Chinese Super League, helping Shanghai Harbour win the first Chinese Super League championship trophy in history.
This season, Shanghai Harbor had a bad start, and after 11 rounds, it only ranked seventh in the standings with 5 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses, accumulating 17 points, and withdrew from the championship race early. It is reported that the Shanghai Harbor Club paid 1.5 million euros to buy back Wu Lei. After 3 years and 6 months in Spain, Wu Lei returned to the place where the dream began. At present, none of the Chinese men's football teams have played in the five major leagues in Europe, and Li Lei, who plays at the Swiss Grasshopper Club, carries the flag of the men's football team alone.