Opinion | Wu Lei bringing back the good times at struggling Espanyol as Chinese hits the ground running in Spain
- Wu Lei scores his first goal for new La Liga club in Valladolid romp
- Chinese forward’s arrival sees massive upswing in club’s popularity
The shout went up from the public address announcer at Espanyol’s Cornella stadium.
The left-winger looked delighted as he embraced his teammates and waved to the crowd. He’s been Espanyol’s best player since he came on as a substitute against Villarreal five games ago. Espanyol had lost nine of their previous ten league games. They’re unbeaten with their new hero in the team, the current Chinese player of the year who joined in the January transfer window for a reported €2 million (US$2.3 million, HK$17.8 million) fee on a three-year contract.
The second biggest club in Catalonia which markets itself as “the marvellous minority” in Barca’s shadow, are within four points of a European spot, an implausible position after their poor run when their wafer-thin squad was exposed to injury. Facing relegation, Espanyol had to act and they did with the arrival of Wu.
But what happens away from the stadium is also fascinating. Reportedly, 20 million people watched Saturday’s game, which made prime time Saturday night viewing in China.
Reports in Spanish newspapers citing figures from Spanish kit manufacturer Kelme state that 10,000 Espanyol shirts have already been sold in China. Shirts with his name on have already outsold those of any other player, while 2.5 million watched a live stream of Wu signing his contract. There has been a surge in interest in Espanyol from China, one the cash-strapped club welcomes.