Wei Shihao

Wei Shihao (born 8 April 1995) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Chinese Super League club Chengdu Rongcheng and the China national team.

Club career
Wei Shihao started his football career when he joined Shandong Luneng's youth academy in 2005. He was deemed as a high potential player and was listed in a Bleacher Report article titled "Eight Teenagers Who Should Be on Every Big Club's Radar." In December 2012, he was recommended to Eredivisie giants Ajax for a trial along with Wang Chengkuai by former Ajax manager and youth scout Henk ten Cate, who managed for Shandong during the 2012 season. However, Shandong subsequently refused Ajax's trial request, forcing Wei to stay at the club.

In September 2013, Wei refused to sign a professional contract with Shandong and joined Segunda Divisão side Boavista's youth academy on a free transfer. He signed a new two-year contract with the club in June 2014 and was then promoted to the first team, whose application for participation in the Primeira Liga was approved. On 14 September 2014, Wei made his debut for the club in a 1–0 win against Académica de Coimbra, coming on as a substitute for Christian Pouga in the 50th minute.

On 15 July 2015, Wei transferred to Segunda Liga side Feirense. He made his debut for the club on 30 August 2015 in a 1–1 draw against Sporting Covilhã. On 31 December 2015, Wei transferred to fellow second-tier side Leixões. He made his debut for the club on 27 January 2016 in a 4–0 loss against Belenenses in the 2015-16 Taça da Liga.

Shanghai SIPG
On 25 February 2017, Wei extended his contract with the club until 30 June 2018 and was loaned to Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG for the 2017 season. He made his Chinese Super League debut and scored his first goal for the club on 7 April 2017 in a 2–1 home win against Shandong Luneng.

Beijing Guoan
On 7 January 2018, Wei transferred to top-tier side Beijing Guoan. He made his debut for the club on 4 March 2018 in a 3–0 away defeat at Shandong Luneng in the opening game of the 2018 Chinese Super League season, and scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 away win at Jiangsu Suning on 11 March. On 28 July 2018, he scored a peculiar own goal in a 2–2 away draw at Shanghai Shenhua only one minute after coming on as a substitute, which was a late equalizer for the home team. On 26 September 2018, he scored twice in a 3–0 away win against Guangzhou R&F in the second leg of the Chinese FA Cup semi-final, which secured Guoan's 8–1 aggregated win and qualified for the final for the first time since 2003. He went on to win the 2018 Chinese FA Cup with Guoan on 30 November, which was the club's first major trophy in 9 years, but did not make an appearance in either leg in the final.

Guangzhou Evergrande
On 2 February 2019, Wei transferred to fellow top-tier side Guangzhou Evergrande. He would go on to establish himself as a regular within the team and go on to win the 2019 Chinese Super League title with the club. On 1 March 2019, He made his debut for the club in a 3–0 home win against Tianjin Tianhai in the opening game of the 2019 Chinese Super League season. On 18 June 2019, he scored his first AFC Champions League goal in a 2–1 home win against Shandong Luneng in the first leg of the last 16. On 1 December 2019, he won the first league title in his career with Evergrande after a 3–0 home win against Shanghai Shenhua, which was the 8th Chinese Super League title for Evergrande.

Wei was named as the captain of the team ahead of the 2022 Chinese Super League season as most senior players at the club departed in the midst of the club's financial predicament. As the team mostly consisted of academy players with no top division experience, they were relegated at the end of the season.

Wuhan Three Towns
On 4 April 2023, Wei joined fellow Chinese Super League club Wuhan Three Towns alongside Evergrande teammates Yan Dinghao and Li Yang. On 8 April 2023, he made his debut for the club and provided an assist for fellow debutant Abdul-Aziz Yakubu in a 2–0 win against Shandong Taishan in the 2023 Chinese FA Super Cup. Coincidentally, he made his debut against his former youth academy club Shandong for 3 of the 4 Chinese clubs he has played for. On 23 May 2023, he scored his first goal for Three Towns in a 5–0 away win at Nantong Zhiyun.

International career
Wei made his debut for the Chinese national team on 9 December 2017 in a 2–2 draw against South Korea in the 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, scoring his first international goal.

Wei was a member of the Chinese squad for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup but did not make an appearance at the tournament.

On 12 December 2023, Wei was named in China's squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. On 22 January 2024, he finally made his debut in the competition in a 1–0 defeat against host Qatar, but could not prevent the team's elimination from the group stage.

International goals

 * Scores and results list China's goal tally first.

Honours
Beijing Guoan
 * Chinese FA Cup: 2018

Guangzhou Evergrande
 * Chinese Super League: 2019

Wuhan Three Towns
 * Chinese FA Super Cup: 2023