Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Wu Lei | ||
Date of birth | 19 November 1991 | ||
Place of birth | Nanjing, Jiangsu, China | ||
Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | ||
Playing position | Right winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team
|
Shanghai SIPG | ||
Number | 7 | ||
Youth career | |||
2003–2005 | Genbao Football Academy | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2006– | Shanghai SIPG | 239 | (104) |
National team‡ | |||
2007–2008 | China U-17 | 8 | (7) |
2009–2010 | China U-20 | 9 | (11) |
2010– | China | 40 | (7) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 November 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2016 |
Wu Lei (Chinese: 武磊; pinyin: Wǔ Lěi, born 19 November 1991) is a Chinese footballer who currently plays for Shanghai SIPG in the Chinese Super League. He is currently the all-time top goalscorer for the club with 114 goals. He currently holds the record for being the youngest person to have played in a professional Chinese football match aged just 14 years and 287 days.
Wu Lei started his football career playing for third tier side Shanghai SIPG, making his debut for the club on 2 September 2006 in a 5-3 loss against Yunnan Lijiang Dongba, making him the youngest ever player to play professional Chinese football aged 14 years and 287 days. He helped the club win the third tier title and promotion to the second tier at the end of the 2007 league season. He scored his first goal for the club on 30 August 2008 in a 2-0 win against Qingdao Hailifeng. This made him the second youngest goalscorer in Chinese football aged 16 years and 289 days, just 47 days behind Cao Yunding's record.
Wu scored a hat trick on 2 June 2013 in a 6-1 win against Shanghai Shenxin, becoming the second youngest player to score a hat trick in the top tier. He scored his second hat trick of the season on 18 August 2013 in a 3-2 win against Tianjin Teda. He scored his third hat trick of the season on 27 September 2013 in a 6-1 win against Qingdao Jonoon. On 31 July 2016, Wu became the first Chinese footballer in over two years to score a hat trick in the league during a 3-3 draw against Guangzhou R&F.
Wu was called up to the Chinese under-20 national team in 2009 and scored nine goals in five matches during the 2010 AFC U-19 Championshipqualification matches. His impressive goalscoring performances saw him called up to the Chinese national team for the 2010 East Asian Football Championship, making his debut on 14 February 2010 in a 2-0 win against Hong Kong. Several months later, Wu returned to the under-20 national team for the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship and he played in four games and score two goals while he aided China to the quarterfinals by the end of the tournament.