Former Premier League footballer & team-mate of Wayne Rooney sentenced to 20 years in prison in China for corruption

Li, who is now 47 years of age, has formed part of the wide-ranging investigation into bribery within the domestic game that exists in his native China. The ex-Everton midfielder submitted a guilty plea when appearing in court back in March.

The charges against him relate to spells working with Hebei China Fortune, Wuhan Zall and his country’s national team. Between 2015 and 2021, when he stepped down as head coach of China, Li is alleged – as reported by state media outlet CCTV - to have given and received bribes totalling 120 million yuan (£13m/$16m).

In exchange for the bribes, which initially allowed Li to influence results and further his career, the former China international agreed to select certain players for national duty. President Xi Jinping had vowed to clamp down on such behaviour when coming to power.

A sweeping anti-corruption campaign was launched, with Li – who played alongside a teenage Rooney at Everton – forming part of that process. The former head of the Chinese Football Association, Chen Xuyuan, has already been sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes worth over 81m yuan (£9m/$11m).

Other officials have been jailed for between 30 months and 14 years, with the investigation finding that 120 matches, involving 41 clubs, had been fixed. Li expressed his remorse for his actions, telling a CCTV documentary: “When I was a player, I despised people who played fixed matches the most. Achieving success through such improper means actually made me increasingly short-sighted and eager for quick results. It became a habit, and eventually, I even started to rely on it.”

Li, who made 33 appearances for Everton during his debut campaign in England and also spent time on the books of Sheffield United, won 92 caps for his country and became – alongside fellow countryman Sun Jihai at Manchester City - one of the first Chinese players to grace the Premier League.