Chinese forward Wu Lei of CSL's Shanghai SIPG joined RCD Espanyol of La Liga, announced both clubs on Monday. 

Wu, 27, will become another Chinese player in one of the five major soccer leagues (La Liga, Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1) in Europe and the second one to play in La Liga.

Espanyol decided to give No. 24 shirt to Wu and signed a three-year contract with him. According to Tencent Sports, Wu could choose to return to Shanghai SIPG without any condition attached when the deal becomes due.

Chen Yansheng, the Chinese president of Espanyol, expressed his interest in introducing Chinese players to the club but failed in the transfers of Zhang Linpeng and Zhang Yuning in the summer of 2017. Wu's joining not only realized Chen's wish but also gave him a better opportunity to exploit the Chinese market for the club.

The last Chinese player in the five major European soccer leagues was Zhang Yuning with Bundesliga's Werder Bremen in 2017. However, as he could not get enough time in the field, Zhang departed Germany for the Netherlands to join Eredivisie's ADO Den Haag. The last Chinese player in La Liga was Zhang Chengdong with Rayo Vallecano on a renting contract in 2015. However, he was not given much time to play either and had to return to China after six months.

By contrast, Wu seemed more hopeful than his two compatriots. First, he joined Espanyol by signing a contract that is longer than two years, instead of short-term renting deal. Second, before he went abroad, Wu was already the best Chinese striker. Since he entered CSL in 2013, Wu was the Chinese scoring champion for six straight years and even broke foreign players' occupation of CSL's scoring champion with 27 goals in the past 2018 season while helping Shanghai SIPG win their first CSL title.

In his interview with CCTV5, Wu said it has been his dream to play abroad and that dream finally came true. He also mentioned that Espanyol was not the only foreign club that reached out to him. "Several clubs called me in winter, including those that played in the UEFA Champions League. Personally, I think being able to play matters the most…I believe Espanyol value my scoring ability and my speed in the two wings," said Wu.

Wu also talked about his goals with the new club. 

"First I need to adapt myself to their pace and style so that I can appear in the field soon, that's the most important. Japan and South Korea have so many players in European clubs. Therefore, I want to be the pioneer for Chinese players so more of them can go overseas which will help the soccer development of our country."