Mirahmetjan Muzepper

Mirahmetjan Muzepper made history on 7 September 2018, becoming the first Uyghur player to appear for the Chinese national team when he featured in a 0-1 defeat away to Qatar. That senior debut came after he had already worked his way through the age-group ranks, representing China at Under-20 and Under-23 level before the call-up to the full side. He went on to win nine caps for the national team.

His club career began at Shandong Taishan, where he progressed from the youth system into the first team, and included a loan spell at Henan Jianye before he returned there permanently a few years later on a free transfer. He later moved on to Tianjin Jinmen Tiger and then to Shanghai Port, both switches completed without a transfer fee. In February 2024 he joined Chengdu Rongcheng, again on a free transfer.

Born in Kashgar, in China's Xinjiang region, Muzepper built his path through some of the country's most prominent clubs over more than a decade, moving through Shandong, Henan, Tianjin and Shanghai before settling at Chengdu. Each transfer came without a fee changing hands, a pattern that ran through his entire career as he changed clubs at the end of contracts rather than through sales.