Zhang Zili (; born 23 January 2002) is a Chinese footballer currently playing as a midfielder for China League Two club Chengdu Rongcheng B.
Career Guangzhou Born in Chengdu in the Sichuan province of China, Zhang did not have a particular interest in football as a child, but would follow his father to watch him play. He joined the Evergrande Football School in 2012, at the age of ten, but initially struggled to settle, and his father would travel to visit him in order to help. In 2016 he travelled with other students to Spain as part of the Evergrande Spanish Football School programme, where he helped his side win the Madrid Coslada Cup. After winning the 2018 Madrid U16 Youth Cup, beating Atlético Madrid's Cadete B team in the final, he was named captain of the squad to represent the school in 2019.
Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, Guangzhou sent a squad of youth team players to represent them in the 2021 edition of the AFC Champions League. After making his professional debut in Guangzhou's 2–0 loss to Japanese club Cerezo Osaka on 24 June 2021, his handball in the match against Hong Kong's Kitchee six days later allowed Montenegrin striker Dejan Damjanović to score the game's only goal from the penalty spot.
After making a few appearances in the 2022 season, Zhang could not prevent the club from being relegated to the China League One. After a poor start to the 2023 season, he took to social media to apologise for his and the club's performances, also denying rumours of an internal rift at the club.
Guangxi Pingguo Having spent the 2024 season on loan at China League Two club Haikou Mingcheng, Zhang joined Guangxi Pingguo in early 2025 after Guangzhou were disbanded following the expiration of his loan.
Career statistics
Club .
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGuangzhou2021Chinese Super League00006000602022901000001002023China League One15020–0017020240000–0000 Total240306000330Haikou Mingcheng (loan)2024China League Two26410–00274Guangxi Pingguo2025China League One8010–0090 Career total584506000694
References