Opinion | Chinese Super League: Wu Lei and Yannick Carrasco offer different takes on the visibility of football in China as transfer rumours link Arsenal and Bayern Munich

Study shows that China forward’s profile has risen back home after moving to Spanish La Liga side Espanyol – but maybe not as much as some make out

Belgian winger misses Dalian Yifang game because of delayed flight but he is expected to return to Europe this transfer window

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Espanyol’s Wu Lei during the Spanish La Liga match between Barcelona and Espanyol at the Camp Nou. Photo: AP

Published: 4:34pm, 17 Jun 2019Updated: 4:34pm, 17 Jun 2019

Nine out of 10 Chinese football fans support Espanyol, according to a recent story in Spanish newspaper Marca.

“Since his arrival in La Liga Santander, 89 per cent of Chinese football fans have pledged their allegiances to Los Periquitos,” they wrote, citing Kantar research.

A great success for Espanyol over all those teams who have been making it their business to court Chinese fans over the last couple of decades but that is not quite what the study actually said, of course.

According to their research, 89 per cent of Chinese fans were able to identify that Wu joined Spanish side Espanyol who he fired into the Europa League on the last day of the season.

This compared to the 67 per cent that knew where he played before signing for the Barcelona-based side in January, Chinese Super League champions Shanghai SIPG. One in 10 respondents thought he played for city rivals Shanghai Shenhua.

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