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Q: Are there any Chinese football (soccer) players currently playing in European clubs?
Your question sparked my interrest so I called by my Chinese girlfriend to ask her her friend's number so I could give her a call. Again, she got mad and started yelling. I told her she was wrong (sometime, I wonder if she does it on purpose to be sure to have her bottle of red wine). Had to tell her I'll bring her to fancy restaurant tonight. I didn't have time to think of something else, I wanted to answer the question!
So I called my Chinese girlfriend's friend and asked her to ask her boyfriend if there was a Chinese soccer player playing in Europe. Well guess what Mr Bunny, there is!
My Chinese girlfriend friend's boyfriend told me the story of Dong Fangzhuo is a traitor Chinese striker that currently evolves in Europe. He had contract from Manchester United back in 2006, and played a single game as a substitute. In 6 minutes, he demonstrated so much talent that a lot of clubs asked to get him. He was the pride of China's top quality export, my Chinese girlfriend friend's boyfriend told me. Manchester United got a lot of money by loaning him to Belgium.
After his contract, he was that good that a Chinese club wanted him so much they gave him money and the pride of playing for his countary. He played there for two years without scoring a single goal. It was because he was corrupted by the West, said my Chinese girlfriend friend's boyfriend. So he got kicked out, and now he plays for an Armenian club because he doesn't deserve to play neither for China, nor for a prestigious club, that traitor.
To the best of my knowledge there isn't many
Hao Junmin was playing in Germany until last month when he left Schalke, he was linked with a host of decent clubs, but he has come back to Shandong, apparently because he wanted to play regularly. Most noteworthy thing he did there to my knowledge is that he gave up his shirt number for Raul when he arrived
Zhang Jiaqi plays for Le Mans apparently, but I don't follow French football at all. I did hear FC Metz have some kind of Chinese football apprentice program, but I don't know the details.
Shao Jiayi recently joined MSV Duisberg in the Bundesliga 2, but I can't imagine the standard is great there.
Going back a few years there were a few others
Sun JiHai plays in ShaanXi now, but he did make 130 appearances for Manchester City from 2002 to 2008, and he also managed to get a few games after that for Sheffield United in 2009 I think.
There was also Li Tie who tried to break into the Everton team about five or six years ago, and then he also ended up at Sheffield United. Don't think he ever got a game for them though, before leaving for their sister club in Chengdu. I believe he is still playing somewhere in China but not sure where.
The national team captain Zheng Zhi did show flashes of being quite good for Charlton in the championship a few years back. He then went to Celtic, but they released him last year, and now he is playing for Guangzhou.