Wu Lei facts for kids
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Wu with China at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 19 November 1991 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Nanjing, Jiangsu, China | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||
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Current team
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Shanghai Port | ||||||||||||
| Number | 7 | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| 2003–2005 | Genbao Football Academy | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
| 2006–2018 | Shanghai SIPG | 296 | (151) | ||||||||||
| 2019–2022 | Espanyol | 103 | (10) | ||||||||||
| 2022– | Shanghai Port | 72 | (63) | ||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | China U16 | 8 | (7) | ||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | China U19 | 9 | (11) | ||||||||||
| 2010– | China | 99 | (36) | ||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 September 2024 |
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| Wu Lei | |||||||||
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| Chinese | 武磊 | ||||||||
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Wu Lei (Chinese: 武磊; pinyin: Wǔ Lěi) was born on November 19, 1991. He is a professional footballer from China. He plays as a forward for the Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port. He also plays for the China national team. Many people think Wu Lei is one of the best Chinese players of his time. He is also considered one of the best Chinese forwards ever.
Wu Lei is the top goalscorer for Shanghai Port, with over 200 goals. He is also the all-time top goalscorer in the Chinese Super League with 165 goals. He holds a special record for being the youngest player to play in a Chinese professional league match. He was only 14 years and 287 days old when he first played.
Contents
Early life
Wu Lei was born in Nanjing, China. He loved football from a very young age. When he was young, the Jiangsu Sainty youth academy did not accept him because they thought he was too small.
In 2003, Wu Lei went to Shanghai with a letter from former Chinese footballer Li Hongbing. He wanted to join the Genbao Football Base. Xu Genbao, who started the academy, saw Wu Lei train once and decided to accept him. In 2005, Wu Lei and his teammates joined Shanghai East Asia, a club co-founded by Xu Genbao.
Club career
Shanghai Port
Wu Lei began his football journey with Shanghai Port. This team was in the third division of Chinese football. His first game was on September 2, 2006. Shanghai Port lost 5–3 to Yunnan Lijiang Dongba. At 14 years and 287 days old, Wu Lei became the youngest player ever in Chinese professional football.
In 2007, he helped his team win the third-tier title. This meant they moved up to the second division. He scored his first goal for the club on August 30, 2008. They won 2–0 against Qingdao Hailifeng. He was 16 years and 289 days old, making him the second-youngest goalscorer in Chinese football history.
On March 8, 2013, Wu Lei scored in his first Chinese Super League game. His team lost 4–1 to Beijing Guoan. On June 2, 2013, he scored three goals in one game, which is called a hat-trick. Shanghai Port won 6–1 against Shanghai Shenxin. He became the second-youngest player to score a hat-trick in China's top league. He scored two more hat-tricks that season.
On July 31, 2016, Wu Lei scored another hat-trick. This made him the first Chinese player in over two years to do so in the Chinese Super League. On March 18, 2018, he scored four goals in one game. Shanghai Port won 5–2 against Guangzhou R&F. He was only the second Chinese player to score four goals in a league match.
On August 11, 2018, Wu Lei scored his 89th Chinese Super League goal. This happened in a 2–0 win against Shanghai Shenhua. He broke the record for most goals in the competition. He won the 2018 Chinese Super League title with Shanghai SIPG. He also won the Golden Boot award for scoring 27 goals. This made him the first Chinese player to win this award since 2007. Wu Lei was also named the Chinese Football Association Footballer of the Year.
RCD Espanyol
On January 28, 2019, Wu Lei moved to La Liga team RCD Espanyol in Spain. The transfer cost about €2 million. He signed a three-year contract. He played his first game for Espanyol on February 3, 2019. It was a 2–2 draw against Villarreal. He came into the game as a substitute. Over 40 million people in China watched this game. He was one of the few Chinese players to play football outside of Asia. He was also the second Chinese player to play in La Liga.
On February 9, 2019, he came on as a substitute and helped his team get a penalty kick. This led to a goal that tied the game, and Espanyol won 2–1. On February 17, 2019, Wu Lei became the first Chinese player to start a La Liga match. On March 2, 2019, he scored his first goal for Espanyol. They won 3–1 against Real Valladolid. This made him the first Chinese player to score in La Liga.
On July 25, 2019, Wu Lei played in the UEFA Europa League for the first time. This was during the qualifying rounds. A month later, he scored his first goal in the Europa League. His goal was a header in the third minute of the game. This was the fastest goal in the club's European history. It was also the first goal by a Chinese player in a European competition since 2013. On October 3, 2019, Wu Lei became the first Chinese player to score in the main part of a European competition.
On January 4, 2020, Wu Lei became the first Chinese player to score against Barcelona. He scored a goal in the 88th minute to tie the game 2–2. Espanyol was moved down to a lower league at the end of the 2019–20 La Liga season. But they quickly returned to the top league the next year. On August 15, 2021, Wu Lei played his 100th game for Espanyol.
Return to Shanghai Port
On August 11, 2022, Wu Lei returned to his old club, Shanghai Port. He signed a contract until 2027. His second debut for Shanghai Port was on September 20, 2022. They won 2–1 against Henan Songshan Longmen. On September 29, 2022, he scored two goals in a 3–0 win. On October 24, 2022, he scored a hat-trick in a big 7–0 win.
On October 29, 2023, Wu Lei won his second league title with Shanghai Port. On November 4, 2023, he scored two goals in a 3–2 win. His second goal in that game was his 200th for the club. It was also his 131st goal in the Chinese Super League. This tied him with his former teammate Elkeson as the top goal scorer in Chinese top-division history.
On September 21, 2024, Wu Lei scored two goals in a 4–3 win. This brought his total for the season to 31 goals. He broke the record for the most goals in a single Chinese Super League season. On November 2, 2024, he scored two more goals in a 5–0 win. This helped Shanghai Port win the Chinese Super League title for the second year in a row. He finished the season with 34 goals. Wu Lei missed the 2024 Chinese FA Cup final due to injuries. However, his team won 3–1, so he still got his first Chinese FA Cup trophy.
As of the end of the 2024 season, Wu Lei is the all-time top goalscorer in the Chinese Super League with 165 goals.
International career
Wu Lei was chosen to play for the Chinese under-20 national team in 2009. He scored nine goals in five games during the qualification matches for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship. Because he scored so many goals, he was called up to the Chinese national team. His first game for the national team was on February 14, 2010. China won 2–0 against Hong Kong.
He later returned to the under-20 team for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship. He played in four games and scored two goals. He helped China reach the quarterfinals. He scored his first goal for the senior China team on July 28, 2013. China won 4–3 against Australia.
On January 11, 2019, Wu Lei scored two goals in a 3–0 win against Philippines. This was during the group stage of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. On October 8, 2021, Wu Lei scored two goals in a 3–2 win against Vietnam. One of these goals was a winning header in injury time during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.
Wu Lei was part of China's team for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. China did not score any goals in the tournament and was eliminated after the group stage.
Player profile
Style of play
Wu Lei is known for scoring many goals. He is also good at moving without the ball. He is very fast, especially when his team is making a quick attack. Wu Lei can play in different positions in the attack. He has played as a striker (the main goalscorer) and a second striker (playing just behind the main striker). But he often plays as a winger, which means he plays on the sides of the field.
Personal life
Wu Lei is from the Hui ethnic group in China. When he was young, Wu Lei was described as a shy person. He used football to help his family during tough times. He married his girlfriend, Zhong Jiabei, in 2014. They have two children, a daughter and a son.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Shanghai SIPG | 2006 | China League Two | — | — | — | |||||||
| 2007 | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 2008 | China League One | 24 | 4 | — | — | — | 24 | 4 | ||||
| 2009 | 22 | 6 | — | — | — | 22 | 6 | |||||
| 2010 | 23 | 10 | — | — | — | 23 | 10 | |||||
| 2011 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 12 | ||||
| 2012 | 30 | 17 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 17 | ||||
| 2013 | Chinese Super League | 27 | 15 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 15 | |||
| 2014 | 28 | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 12 | ||||
| 2015 | 30 | 14 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 33 | 16 | ||||
| 2016 | 30 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 7 | — | 42 | 22 | |||
| 2017 | 28 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 5 | — | 47 | 26 | |||
| 2018 | 29 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | — | 41 | 29 | |||
| Total | 296 | 151 | 17 | 5 | 31 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 344 | 169 | ||
| Espanyol | 2018–19 | La Liga | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 3 | ||
| 2019–20 | 33 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 2 | — | 49 | 8 | |||
| 2020–21 | Segunda División | 31 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 34 | 3 | |||
| 2021–22 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 27 | 2 | |||
| Total | 103 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 126 | 16 | ||
| Shanghai Port | 2022 | Chinese Super League | 12 | 11 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 16 | 13 | ||
| 2023 | 30 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 18 | |||
| 2024 | 30 | 34 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 38 | ||
| Total | 72 | 63 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 84 | 69 | ||
| Career total | 471 | 224 | 35 | 14 | 47 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 554 | 254 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 2010 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 11 | 5 | |
| 2019 | 8 | 5 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 9 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 11 | 5 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 4 | |
| Total | 99 | 36 | |
Honours
Shanghai Port
- Chinese Super League: 2018, 2023, 2024
- China League One: 2012
- China League Two: 2007
- Chinese FA Cup: 2024
Espanyol
- Segunda División: 2020–21
China PR
- East Asian Football Championship: 2010
Individual
- Chinese Football Association Footballer of the Year: 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024
- AFC Champions League All-Star Squad: 2016, 2017
- Chinese Super League Golden Boot winner: 2018, 2024
- Chinese Super League Domestic Golden Boot winner: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2024
- Chinese Super League Team of the Year: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023, 2024
- Chinese Footballer of the Year: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023
- AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2019
- IFFHS AFC Man Team of the Year: 2020
- IFFHS AFC Men's Team of the Decade 2011–2020
- IFFHS Asian Men's Team of All Time: 2021
See also
In Spanish: Wu Lei para niños
