# Li Lei (footballer)

Li Lei (Chinese: 李磊; pinyin: Lǐ Lěi; Mandarin pronunciation:; born 30 May 1992) is a Chinese professional footballer who currently plays as a left-back for Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan and the China national team.

## Club career

Li Lei spent his youth career at his hometown team Qingdao Hailifeng and would go on to establish himself as left midfielder before recently promoted side Nanchang Hengyuan became interested in him at the end of the 2009 league season where they would promote him to the senior side.
He made his professional football league debut at the age of seventeen on April 17, 2010 against Hangzhou Greentown, however he received a straight red card just ten minutes into his career after fouling Hangzhou player Sun Ji. Despite this setback once his suspension ended he was immediately brought back into the senior side and start the next possible game on May 9, 2010 against Shaanxi Zhongjian. He scored his first goal for Shanghai Shenxin in a 2-0 win against Jiangsu Sainty on the 31st October 2010.

### Henan Jianye

Li transferred to Henan Jianye on 16 February 2013. He won the 2013 China League One title with Henan in his first season and promoted back to the Chinese Super League after a one-year absence.

### Beijing Guoan

On 18 January 2015, Li made a move to fellow Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan. On 17 March 2015, Li made his debut for Guoan in a 2-0 home win against Urawa Red Diamonds in the 2015 AFC Champions League group stage. He scored his first goal for Beijing on 21 April 2017 in a 1–1 home draw against Tianjin Quanjian. On 30 November 2018, he won the 2018 Chinese FA Cup with Guoan after a 2-2 away draw (aggregated 3-3 draw, Guoan won on away goals) against Shandong Luneng, his first trophy with the club and the club's first major trophy in 9 years.

### Grasshoppers

On 20 December 2021, Li signed with Grasshoppers in Switzerland. On 5 February 2022, he made his Swiss Super League debut in a 3-1 home defeat against FC Zürich.
On 28 February 2023, Li terminated his contract with Grasshoppers, despite only having a few more months left of his contract. In his 14 appearances, 13 in the league and one in the cup, he supplied one assist.

### Return to Guoan

On 30 March 2023, Li returned to Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan.

## International career

On 21 March 2019, Li made his debut for the Chinese national team in a 1–0 loss against Thailand in the 2019 China Cup.
On 12 December 2023, Li was named in China's squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
On 15 December 2025, Li scored his first international goal in a friendly match between Chinese national team and Kuwait national team

## Career statistics
### Club statistics

    As of 2 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Shanghai Shenxin | 2010 | Chinese Super League | 20 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | 2 |
| Shanghai Shenxin | 2011 | Chinese Super League | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 14 | 1 |
| Shanghai Shenxin | 2012 | Chinese Super League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 12 | 0 |
| Shanghai Shenxin | Total | Total | 44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 46 | 3 |
| Henan Jianye | 2013 | China League One | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 27 | 3 |
| Henan Jianye | 2014 | Chinese Super League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 12 | 0 |
| Henan Jianye | Total | Total | 38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 39 | 3 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2015 | Chinese Super League | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 0 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2016 | Chinese Super League | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 15 | 0 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2017 | Chinese Super League | 28 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 30 | 2 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2018 | Chinese Super League | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 13 | 0 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2019 | Chinese Super League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2020 | Chinese Super League | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | – | 24 | 1 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2021 | Chinese Super League | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 1 |
| Beijing Guoan | Total | Total | 115 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 141 | 4 |
| Grasshoppers | 2021–22 | Swiss Super League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 7 | 0 |
| Grasshoppers | 2022–23 | Swiss Super League | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 7 | 0 |
| Grasshoppers | Total | Total | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 14 | 0 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2023 | Chinese Super League | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 23 | 0 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2024 | Chinese Super League | 25 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 28 | 1 |
| Beijing Guoan | Total | Total | 46 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 51 | 1 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 256 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 293 | 11 |
* ↑ Includes Chinese FA Cup, Swiss Cup
* 1 2 3 Appearances in AFC Champions League
* ↑ Appearance in Chinese FA Super Cup

### International statistics

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| China |
| China | 2019 | 4 | 0 |
| China | 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| China | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| China | 2023 | 6 | 0 |
| China | 2024 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 17 | 0 |

## Honours

Henan Jianye
* China League One: 2013
Beijing Guoan
* Chinese FA Cup: 2018
Individual
* Chinese Super League Team of the Year: 2024