On December 20, Beijing time, the Swiss soccer giants Grasshopper Club officially disclosed to the public that Beijing Guoan defender Li Lei will formally cross the Swiss soccer camp at the beginning of the next month.
Grasshopper's official statement is below:
Our player Li Lei, 29 years old, currently plays for Beijing Guoan as the team's main left back. He is set to complete the registration process at the end of the upcoming winter transfer window for the 21/22 season.
Li Lei, a native of Qingdao, Qingdao, has been training in the region since his childhood and made his Chinese Super League (CSL) debut in April 2010 at the age of 18 with Nanchang Bayi, a club where he has played more than 200 professional league matches. Li Lei has played more than 200 matches in the professional league for a number of clubs, including Nanchang Bayi (now Shanghai Shenxin), Henan Jianye, and Beijing Guoan, and won the FA Cup with Beijing Guoan in 2018. The following year, he was honored as a member of the best squad of the 19th season of the Chinese Super League.
In March 2019, Li Lei made his debut in a national team uniform and has contributed two assists in five games for the national team so far.
Grasshoppers Technical Director Olofin Gana expressed his joy at the addition of Li Lei: "We are very excited about the addition of Li Lei! As our international player, he will bring valuable experience to the team. We expect him to adapt quickly to the rhythm and culture of Swiss soccer and contribute to the team in the second half of the season."
Grasshopper Club also extends its best wishes to Li Lei to help Beijing Guoan achieve good results in the remaining matches of the 2021 season and looks forward to reuniting with Li Lei in Zurich, Switzerland next January!
