Zheng Zhi, talisman behind Evergrande’s magnificent seven

before moving to Shandong and then being snapped up by Charlton, initially on loan, in January 2007.

The London side were in the Premier League at the time and Zheng could not have dreamed of a bigger debut, coming on as a substitute in front of 75,000 fans at Old Trafford against Manchester United.

After a successful spell of nine goals and 67 appearances with Charlton, Zheng signed for Celtic.

Zheng played only a bit role with the Scottish giants in 2009-2010 and says that it was always his plan to return to China.

And he did, signing in the summer of 2010 for Guangzhou on a free transfer and embarking on a trophy-laden run that has included the 2013 and 2015 Asian Champions League titles, as well as the 2013 AFC player of the year award.

Like all high-profile footballers, he has his detractors and moments of controversy, but is widely regarded as one of China’s greatest-ever players. This season the Chinese FA banned him for four games and fined him for failing to gather his side to shake the referee’s hand following a league defeat.

And in 2015, Hong Kong goalkeeper Yapp Hung-fai alleged that Zheng called him “a dog” during a contentious World Cup qualifying draw. Zheng laughed off the claim.

When I first came to Guangzhou I did not expect I can serve here this long and bring these many championships.

ZHENG ZHI