
A substitute at Camp Nou on 4 January 2020, he equalised in the 88th minute for Espanyol and became the first Chinese player to score against Barcelona, in a 2-2 draw. Chinese Super League titles in 2018 and 2023, Golden Boots in 2018 and 2024, the league's all-time leading scorer, a single-season record of 31 goals, Asian Cup team of the tournament in 2019, and past 100 caps with 36 goals. Career record: club career at Shanghai Port, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona.
| 2006–2019 | Shanghai Port |
| 2019–today | RCD Espanyol de Barcelona |
China legends whose careers overlapped Lei's
One rank above: Gu Guangming at #5.
One rank below: Li Tie at #7.
China's editorial top five: Sun Jihai · Zheng Zhi · Fan Zhiyi · Hao Haidong · Gu Guangming.