Club Career
Li started his senior career in 2002 with China League Two club Guangzhou Rizhiquan Yida. He made 14 appearances in 2003 league season and moved to second tier club Guangzhou F.C. in 2004, however he was often used as a substitute in the early years. He was loaned out to Guangzhou 's satellite team Sunray Cave at the beginning of the 2004/05 Hong Kong First Division League season and returned to Guangzhou in the summer of 2005. Li scored his first goal for Guangzhou on 16 July 2005, three days before his 21st Birthday. He scored the winning goal in injury time, which ensured Guangzhou win Qingdao Hailifeng 2-1.
In the 2007 league season Shen Xiangfu came in as manager, which saw Li steadily established himself in Guangzhou and was a key player within the club as they went on to win the division title. Within the top tier Li adapted very well within the league and was a vital member of the team that saw Guangzhou establish themselves as regulars within the division, however at the end of the 2009 Chinese Super League campaign it was discovered that the club had fixed a game during 2006 and were punished with relegation. Li would however remain faithful toward Guangzhou and played a key role as they immediately won premotion and the division title at the end of the 2010 league season. As this was going on the Evergrande Real Estate Group invested heavily within the club by bringing in Chinese international Zheng Zhi and South Korean international Cho Won-Hee into central midfield. This would limit Li's playing time and despite being part of the team that went on to win the 2011 Chinese Super League title he only played in a handful of games.
Li was loaned to Guangzhou R&F on 11 July 2012. He made 11 appearances for the Blues in the second half of the 2012 league season. On 9 November, Guangzhou R&F announced that they had made the move permanent with a undisclosed fee.
Read more about this topic: Li Yan (footballer Born 1984)
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