On February 26, 2023, Shanghai Seaport Football Club's striker Wu Lei won the China Ballon d'Or, the fourth consecutive year he has won the award.
Dating back to the 2018 season, Wu Lei made his debut, helping his team win the Chinese Super League title and winning the China Golden Ball Award for the first time. After three and a half years in Spain, Wu Lei returned to Shanghai Seaport and led the team to another success in the 2023 season, and personally won the China Golden Ball Award for the fourth time with a remarkable performance of 18 goals in the Chinese Super League.
With 62 first place votes and a total of 510 points, Wu Lei surpassed Han Chao, who was second with 231 points, and Wei Shihao, who was third with 187 points in a tightly contested selection.
Facing a question from a Xinhua reporter, Wu Lei said frankly: "The soccer environment has been quite difficult in the past two years. Against this background, I would like to thank the organizers, judges and fans for their continuous attention and support to Chinese soccer. Despite the fact that the situation and overall performance of Chinese soccer in recent years is not ideal, the organizers still hold their ground and set an example for Chinese soccer."
Wu Lei emphasized: "In the face of adversity, we should be more persistent. If the players lack confidence, Chinese soccer will deteriorate. Although the players are under great pressure, we still need to show our best form to bring more expectations to the fans."
Wu Lei also admitted: "We must face up to the fact that at present our strength is not enough to be among the first-class in Asia."
However, in the Super Cup match between Shanghai Seaport and Shanghai Shenhua on the 25th, Wu Lei didn't show his best form and missed a great chance for a single shot. In the end, Shanghai Seaport lost 0-1.
Facing the honor at the 26th award ceremony, Wu Lei humbly said, "I feel very ashamed. The results of the Chinese national team in recent years have not been ideal." The loss of the Super Cup made Wu Lei hesitate for a while to receive the award at the ceremony.
In addition to Wu Lei, Tian Jinmen Tigers head coach Yu Genwei won the China Golden Marshal Award, China Women's Golden Ball Award by Zhang Linyan. Guizhou "village super" and the Qatar Asian Cup Chinese referee team won the special award of the organizing committee. Among them, the referee team composed of Ma Ning, Fu Ming, Zhou Fei and Zhang Miao refereed the Asian Cup final for the first time, creating history.
Attachment: List of 2023 Chinese Golden Ball winners
China Golden Ball Award: Wu Lei
China Women's Golden Ball Award: Zhang Linyan
China Golden Marshal Award: Yu Genwei
China U17 Golden Boy Award: Wang Yudong
China U21 Golden Boy Award: Baihelamu Abdouweli
China Futsal Golden Ball Award: Ding Shunjie
Soccer Gaming Club of the Year: Manchester City Gaming Club
Mr. Football Online of the Year (FC ONLINE): Yu Yue
Mr. Football Gaming of the Year (FC Football World): Yang Zichu
Organizing Committee Special Award: Qatar Asian Cup China Referee Team
Special Award of the Organizing Committee: Rongjiang (Sanbao Dong Village) and Beautiful Country Football Super League
