Shanghai SIPG forward Wu Lei wins CSL Top Scorer, MVP awards

"I did not expect that I could win this award," said Wu at the awarding ceremony. "My thanks will go to director Xu Genbao, the coaching staff, my teammates and my fans."

One of China's great footballing hopes from a young age, Wu Lei was recruited to join legendary Chinese manager Xu Genbao's ambitious youth academy, Genbao Football Base in Shanghai in 2003. Xu Genbao opened the academy in 2001 with the goal to "Build a Manchester United of China".

In 2005, Xu Genbao helped found Shanghai Dongya FC (now Shanghai SIPG) in China League Two, the third tier of Chinese football. Wu Lei made his debut for Shanghai Donya in their first season, becoming the youngest ever player in China's professional leagues at 14 years and 287 days.