Li Yongjia
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|
Li Yongjia in April 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Li Yongjia | ||
| Date of birth | 24 July 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Sanshui, Guangdong, China | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tianjin Jinmen Tiger | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2019–2022 | Guangzhou City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022 | Guangzhou City | 27 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | Meizhou Hakka | 28 | (1) |
| 2025– | Tianjin Jinmen Tiger | 13 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023 | China U23 | 3 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22 November 2025 | |||
Li Yongjia (Chinese: 李永佳; pinyin: Lǐ Yǒngjiā; born 24 July 2001) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Chinese Super League club Tianjin Jinmen Tiger.
Born in Sanshui, Guangdong, Li Yongjia was identified as having better promise in football than his peers at a young age.[1] In his primary school years, he led his school, Xinan Central Primary School, to clinch first-place in a district-wide primary school football competition.[1] In 2013, to pursue a future career in football, he joined the Sanshui Sports School, then the Foshan Sports School shortly after.[1] In 2016, he joined the Guangdong Youth Football Team, and took his team to a second-place finish in the 2018 National Youth Super League at the under-17 level.[1] In 2019, Li Yongjia joined the youth academy of Chinese Super League club Guangzhou R&F.[1]
Club career
Guangzhou City
On 17 May 2022, it was announced that Li Yongjia was promoted to Guangzhou City's first-team squad for the upcoming 2022 Chinese Super League season, fielding the number 38 shirt.[2] He made his senior and professional debut on 15 June 2022, coming on as a 79-minute substitute for Zhang Gong in a league game against Henan Songshan Longmen, which ended in a 3–0 defeat for Guangzhou City.[3] He then gained consistent playing time under then-Guangzhou City head coach Li Weifeng, and scored his first senior goal on 13 September 2022 with a curler in a 1–0 Guangzhou derby victory against Guangzhou FC,[4] becoming the first ever CSL goalscorer from Sanshui.[5]
Meizhou Hakka
Following Guangzhou City's financial difficulties and their subsequent dissolution, on 9 March 2023, Li Yongjia signed for Chinese Super League side Meizhou Hakka, where he would continue wearing the number 38.[6] He made his debut for Meizhou Hakka on 15 April 2023, on the opening game of the 2023 league season away against Beijing Guoan, which ended in a 1–1 draw.[5] He scored his first goal for Meizhou Hakka on 9 June 2023, as a substitute in a 3–2 home loss against Cangzhou Mighty Lions.[7]
Tianjin Jinmen Tiger
On 24 January 2025, Li Yongjia joined Chinese Super League club Tianjin Jinmen Tiger.[8]
International career
On 12 September 2023, Li Yongjia was selected as part of the 22-man squad that would compete for China at the 2022 Asian Games.[9]