- Address: Shanghai
- Country: China
- Capacity: 72,000
- Opened: 14 March 1999
- Main use: Football
- Tenants: Shanghai Shenhua (football)
Extra stadium info – Shanghai Stadium
The Shanghai Stadium became one of the largest Chinese sports venues by capacity. Shanghai Shenhua, the first sports club from Shanghai with 1 million followers on its main social media page, use the football stadium for home matches. In 2003, they were crowned Chinese football champions. Shanghai Shenhua drew an average home attendance of 22,000 during that domestic league season. They were stripped of the domestic league title in 2013 because of a match-fixing scandal.
Didier Drogba
Shanghai Shenhua signed Didier Yves Drogba Tébily, a world-famous striker who was born in the city of Abidjan, in 2012. Didier Drogba played professional football for Le Mans FC, EA Guingamp, Olympique de Marseille and Chelsea before he signed with Shanghai Shenhua. In 2012, he won the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea FC after scoring twice in the final against FC Bayern München from Germany. Drogba ended his professional football career with the Phoenix Rising from the United States. He was 40 years old when he ended his professional football career. Didier Drogba played a vital role in the peace process in the Côte d’Ivoire, the country were he was born.
Carlos Tévez
In 2016, Shanghai Shenhua signed another world-famous player, when Carlos Tévez joined the club. It became the most expensive transfer ever for a football club from Asia. In China, Tévez became one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. Tévez played numerous matches for the national football team of the Argentine Republic, one of the first national football teams with a FIFA World Cup title. He played for the Boca Juniors, SC Corinthians Paulista, West Ham United, Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus before he played for Shanghai Shenhua. Tévez won the FIFA Club World Cup with the English club Manchester United in 2008. He was substituted in the final against Liga Deportiva Universitaria from Ecuador after 51 minutes.
