Yan Yiming ( zh, s=闫义明, t=, p=; born 4 February 1998) is a Chinese

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

currently playing as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for Zibo Cuju.

Club career

Early career

Yan took an interest in sports as a child, with his father enrolling him in martial arts classes at the age of three, before joining the academy of professional football team

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club (), known in AFC competitions as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in . Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang Distr ...

in 2006. Three years later, he was admitted to the

High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China (RDFZ; ) is a public high school in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Renmin University of China. History The school was established on April 3, 1950 as the Beijing E ...

football team, , having stood out at trials of over 400 other players.

Move to Europe

In 2012, Yan proposed pursuing a footballing career in Europe to his father. His father was initially hesitant, but in August of the same year, Yan moved to Spain, finding a personal football coach who got him in touch with professional side

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

. Following a trial with Villarreal, the club asked him to stay longer, and Yan's father moved from Beijing to help support his son's career in Spain. His first official club in Spain was

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, where he spent the 2013–14 season. He also played for Torre Levante and Cornellà, before joining then-

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

in 2017. While at Deportivo Alavés, he was loaned out to lower division sides

San Ignacio San Ignacio (the Spanish language name of St. Ignatius (disambiguation), St. Ignatius) is a common toponym in parts of the world where that language is or was spoken: Argentina * San Ignacio, Argentina, Misiones Province * San Ignacio Miní, a ...

and

Parla Parla () is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It is located in the southern part of the region, approximately 20 km from the capital, Madrid. History Origins Earliest evidence of human occupation includes stone tools m ...

. Following his departure from Deportivo Alavés, he joined

Atlético Saguntino Atlético Saguntino (Spanish for 'Athletic Club of Sagunto') is a Spanish football team based in Sagunto, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1951, they play in , holding home games at ''Camp Nou de Morvedre'', with a 4,000-seat capacity. Hi ...

on a permanent deal in November 2019. He was named on the bench three times for Atlético Saguntino, but did not make an appearance for the club.

Return to China

Yan returned to China in 2020, joining

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

side Taizhou Yuanda, but did not make an appearance for the club.

Career statistics

Club

References

1998 births Living people Chinese men's footballers China men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Tercera División players China League One players 21st-century Chinese sportsmen Beijing Guoan F.C. players Atlético Madrid footballers UE Cornellà players CF Torre Levante players Deportivo Alavés players Deportivo Alavés B players AD Parla players Atlético Saguntino players Taizhou Yuanda F.C. players Zibo Cuju F.C. players Zibo Qisheng F.C. players Shanghai Jiading Huilong F.C. players Chinese expatriate men's footballers Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain {{PRChina-footy-forward-stub