Debut of Espanyol’s new signing Wu Lei watched by more than 40m in China
The 27-year-old left Shanghai SIPG on deadline day of last month’s winter window as Espanyol payed £1.75m for the striker
ESPANYOL newboy Wu Lei had 40million viewers from China watch his La Liga debut after he joined from the Chinese Super League last month.
The 27-year-old left Shanghai SIPG on deadline day of last month’s winter window as Espanyol payed £1.75m for the striker.
Wu Lei had arrived after being knocked out of the Asian Cup quarter-finals with China.
The Chinese icon made his La Liga debut against Villarreal coming on for the last 12 minutes of the 2-2 draw.
Although a brief cameo, the debut of Wu Lei reportedly brought in 40m viewers in China.
Wu Lei spent 12 years with Shanghai SIPG scoring an amazing 151 league goals in 296 games.
Espanyol's billionaire owner, Chen Yansheng, has seen his club reap the rewards of their new star.
The Catalan club have seen their social media following on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram increased by more than 20,500 outside China.
Espanyol’s social media rise has also exceeded half a million in China since the arrival of Wu Lei.
Replica shirts with Wu Lei’s name and squad number were reportedly sold out within 48 hours of his transfer with an additional 2,000 plus jersey’s sold.
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Espanyol owner Yansheng has a vision to rival Barcelona as an attraction and hopes to build the growth of the club outside of La Liga.
Wu Lei’s new side currently sit 15th in the league, having also lost their last four games.