Espanyol's Wu Lei in action during a La Liga match against Levante in Valencia, Spain, March 12, 2022. (Photo by Pablo Morano/Xinhua)
Espanyol has confirmed the departure of Chinese international striker Wu Lei, who returned to Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port.
MADRID, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Spanish La Liga club Espanyol confirmed on Thursday morning that Chinese international striker Wu Lei is leaving the club to return to his homeland.
The 30-year-old is returning to Shanghai Port, where he played before coming to Spain, scoring 151 league goals in 296 appearances.
Wu arrived in Spain in January 2019 and scored 16 goals in 126 appearances for Espanyol, becoming the first ever Chinese player to score in La Liga in the process.
Wu celebrates his goal during a La Liga match against Celta Vigo in Cornella, Spain, April 10, 2022. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua)
Although he was popular with fans of the Barcelona-based club, Wu found himself increasingly on the fringes of the team in the last two seasons, playing just 457 minutes of league football last season and 835 the year before, as the club played in Spain's second division.
The arrival of striker Joselu from Alaves in the summer further reduced Wu's chances of playing this season, and he did not participate in the club's pre-season training camp or travel with the squad for a friendly in England.
