On February 26th, 2023, the much-anticipated "China Golden Ball Award" was announced, and Wu Lei, the striker of Shanghai Harbour FC, won the award for his outstanding performance, which is his fourth consecutive time to win the award.
Back in the 2018 season, Wu Lei helped Shanghai Seaport win the Chinese Super League title for the first time and picked up the China Golden Ball Award. After three and a half years of studying in Spain, Wu Lei returned to Shanghai Seaport and helped the team win another Chinese Super League title in the 2023 season. Individually, he won his fourth China Ballon d'Or for his 18 goals in the Chinese Super League season.
In the selection session, Wu Lei scored a total of 510 points with 62 first-place votes, well ahead of second-place Han Chao's 231 points and third-place Wei Shihao's 187 points.
Facing an interview with Xinhua News Agency, Wu Lei frankly said, "In recent years, the soccer environment in China is not ideal. Against this background, I would like to sincerely thank the organizers, judges and fans for their continuous attention and support to Chinese soccer. Although the overall performance of China's soccer is not satisfactory, the organizers have always set an example for Chinese soccer."
He said, "The tougher it gets, the more we have to be firm in our beliefs and never give up. If the staff lacks confidence, the future of our soccer is worrying. In the face of pressure, we should show our best side and bring more expectation to our fans."
Wu Lei also bluntly said, "We must face up to the reality that the current level of our soccer can not yet be ranked first-class in Asia."
In the Super Cup match between Shanghai Seaport and Shanghai Shenhua on the 25th, Wu Lei had a poor performance and missed a great one-two chance, and Shanghai Seaport finally lost 0-1.
On the 26th, Wu Lei said at the award ceremony, "I am ashamed of my performance. In recent years, the Chinese national team's performance has not been satisfactory. After the Super Cup loss, I had hesitated to receive the award on the spot."
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 Qatar Asian Cup Chinese referee team won the special award of the organizing committee. Among them, by Ma Ning, Fu Ming, Zhou Fei and Zhang Miao composed of Chinese referee team, in the Qatar Asian Cup final law enforcement, which is the first time in the history of the Chinese referee team in the final as a referee.
Attachment: List of 2023 Chinese Golden Ball winners
Wu Lei, China Golden Ball Award
China Women's Golden Ball Award: Zhang Linyan
Yu Genwei, China Golden Marshal Award
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
