Dong Fangzhuo (; born 23 January 1985) is a Chinese former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Early career Dong first came to prominence in 2000 when he was named the most valuable player in an under-17 tournament. He then signed for Dalian Sidelong and helped them finish as runners-up in the Chinese Jia-B league in 2002. This then earned him a move to Dalian Shide, the most successful club team in China. Dong scored his first goal for Dalian in the second match of the qualifying stages of the 2002–03 AFC Champions League. Manchester United Dong left Dalian for Manchester United on 12 January 2004 for an initial fee of £500,000, which could have risen to £3.5 million, depending upon appearances. He thus became the first East Asian player to sign for Manchester United. After signing for Manchester United, he was unable to play for the senior team immediately because he was ineligible for a work permit. Due to these legal issues, Dong was loaned out to get first-team experience with Belgian First Division side Royal Antwerp where the employment laws were less strict. In his first season, he scored one goal in nine appearances as he began to get used to his new environment. His second season began more promisingly, finding the net in six of his first seven appearances of the season, all as a substitute off the bench. However, disrupted by injury and international duty, his form fell away in the latter half of the season as he finished with seven goals in 22 appearances in all competitions. At the beginning of the 2005–06 season, he was called up to join Manchester United on their pre-season tour and made his unofficial debut for the club in a friendly match in Hong Kong, scoring a goal in a 2–0 win. In the 2005–06 season, Dong impressed for Royal Antwerp as he finished as the top goalscorer for both his team and the Belgian Second Division with 18 goals, including two hat-tricks. In 2006, he again joined Manchester United on a pre-season tour and scored the winner in a 1–0 win over Kaizer Chiefs. Manager Alex Ferguson remarked that Dong had the "speed and physicality" to play for United and hoped that he would be eligible to play for the club by December 2006. It was reported that Dong could obtain Belgian citizenship. However, this