Espanyol confirms departure of Chinese striker Wu Lei

MADRID, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Spanish La Liga club Espanyol confirmed on Thursday morning that Chinese international striker Wu Lei is leaving the club to return to his homeland.

The 30-year-old is returning to Shanghai Port, where he played before coming to Spain, scoring 151 league goals in 296 appearances.

He set a team record when Shanghai Port competed in the Chinese Super League, where he scored 102 goals in 172 matches.

The Shanghai Port also announced Wu's return on Thursday, saying Wu will re-put on his No. 7 jersey.

"Welcome home, Wu Lei!" said the club on its social media.

Wu arrived in Spain in January 2019 and scored 16 goals in 126 appearances for Espanyol, becoming the first ever Chinese player to score in La Liga in the process.

Although he was popular with fans of the Barcelona-based club, Wu found himself increasingly on the fringes of the team in the last two seasons, playing just 457 minutes of league football last season and 835 the year before, as the club played in Spain's second division.

The arrival of striker Joselu from Alaves in the summer further reduced Wu's chances of playing this season, and he did not participate in the club's pre-season training camp or travel with the squad for a friendly in England.