On September 4, Ding Haifeng looked back on his eventful career journey in an interview with New Express. He revealed that since the implementation of the tournament system, his income has been minimal.
At the tail end of the 2017 season, Huaxia continued to expand their squad. This time, the Hwasas locked in Argentine international Mascherano, who fell out of favor at Barcelona, while also eyeing R&F's left back Jiang Zhipeng. Although Jiang could not stay, R&F club, coach and fans all saw Ding Haifeng as the best replacement. As a result, Ding Haifeng joined Jiang Zhipeng's transfer.
However, Ding Haifeng is in a passive position in the deal. He said, "Since joining Huaxia in 2016, I have never thought of leaving. In truth, I was extremely reluctant to leave. But accidents happen and many problems ensue ......"
Unfortunately, during his two years in R&F, Ding Haifeng's performance failed to live up to the standard, and the team's record plummeted. Although statistics show that he is still one of the best five players in R&F, he has become the target of fans' criticism. In the face of the stark contrast between the statistics and the attitude of the fans, Ding Haifeng said: "If the performance is excellent, naturally no one will criticize. If the performance is poor and no one can rely on it, then it is his own fault."
When Huaxia moved to R&F in 2018, they had a two-year buyback right on Ding Haifeng.In 2020, Huaxia sold Jiang Zhipeng to SZFC, activating the buyback right and bringing Ding Haifeng back to Hebei. At this point, Ding Haifeng was shocked to realize that his career had gone through a transfer every two years: two years at Shenfu, two years at Liaozhu, two years at Huaxia, two years at R&F...
Since the fall of 2021, many clubs in the Chinese Super League have defaulted on player wages. Throughout the Chinese Super League, only Shanghai Harbor is not in arrears. Hebei's arrears are the most serious, since 2021, domestic players basically no wages. "Club staff, coaches and foreign aid all have wages, only the domestic players have not been paid a penny." Ding Haifeng confessed that this is the first time he has encountered salary arrears. "After playing for three years, the salary is very little."
After the Hebei team was disbanded, Ding Haifeng once considered retiring. He said, "I did consider retiring. Thanks to my family's discouragement, I was discouraged from retiring. "My mother asked me about the original reason for playing soccer, and I can't forget that."
With the support of his family, Ding Haifeng chose to continue his career. Before the transfer window closed, he signed with Chinese A team Shijiazhuang Kung Fu. This is a team that is expected to make a name for itself in this year's Chinese Super League. In the China A League, Ding Haifeng had an easy time of it, leading the assist charts with 6 assists.
Despite the attraction of the Chinese Super League is not what it used to be, Ding Haifeng still hopes to help the team through his efforts. "In the past, I had a bad experience with the Shijiazhuang fans, but I sincerely thank them for their understanding. I will give back to the fans with better performance and help the team return to the Chinese Super League."
