Liuyu Duan

Duan Liuyu's career began with an unusual transfer for a teenager: Shandong Taishan, then known as Shandong Luneng, signed him in 2015 for a fee of 1 million RMB, a record for a youth player at the time. The move was followed by two years developing at São Paulo FC's academy in Brazil, before he returned to Shandong, joined the first team in July 2018 and made his senior debut in March 2019.

That debut season brought early recognition. Duan was nominated for the Chinese Super League's Best Newcomer award, though the prize went to Zhu Chenjie, and in August 2019 he picked up a round MVP award after scoring once and setting up two further goals in a single match. The following years were built around silverware rather than individual awards: with Shandong Taishan he won the Chinese Super League title in 2021 and took the Chinese FA Cup in three consecutive seasons, 2020, 2021 and 2022, as the club set a record for that competition.

Loan spells took him away from Shandong twice, first to Wuhan Three Towns in 2023 and then to Qingdao West Coast across 2024 and 2025, where he made 50 appearances and scored seven goals. In July 2026 he left Shandong Taishan altogether, moving to Yunnan Yukun on a two-year contract for a fee of around €91,000.

At international level, Duan's involvement has stayed at youth level: three caps and a goal for China's under-16 side in 2014, followed by four appearances and another goal for the under-23s between 2019 and 2020. A left-footed midfielder, he now continues his career at Yunnan Yukun in the Chinese Super League.