The rarely-seen Sheffield United player who is now making millions with his own company | OneFootball

Sun Jihai played just a handful of times for the Blades, but is now raking it in after succeeding in the business world

Sun Jihai is a player most remembered for his time at Manchester City, where he spent six seasons between 2002 and 2008.

The defender played over 150 times for the club during that time, before departing just as the riches started to roll into the side, with Sheffield United his next destination.

A single season at Bramall Lane saw him play just 12 times, before he packed his bags and returned to his homeland, and eventually hung up his boots in 2016 at the age of 38.

Since then, the former defender has gone on to take the business world by storm thanks to an innovation in sports entertainment, and is now said to be worth millions.

Sun Jihai’s English football career with Crystal Palace, Manchester City and Sheffield United

Sun’s initial taste of English football was with Crystal Palace back in the 98/99 season, where the Eagles took the defender on loan while in the second tier, as he and fellow recruit Fan Zhiyi became the first Chinese players in the EFL in the process.

After racking up 25 appearances for Palace - in which he was sent off twice - Sun returned back to Dalian Wanda in China for the next few years, before returning to England in February 2002 when he joined City.

The current Premier League Champions were themselves fending in the second tier at the time, with their new recruit playing seven times en route to promotion to the top flight, before establishing himself as a first-team regular over the coming years.

With three goals in 130 league appearances for the club, Sun was something of a cult icon at City at the time, with the club regularly meandering around mid-table, as opposed to the serial winning machine that Pep Guardiola has built today.

As the first signs of the financial investment were coming in, Sun was on his way out of the club, with Sheffield United taking him for the 08/09 season in the Championship.

After starting his fair share of games in the aftermath of his move to Bramall Lane, a sending off against Coventry City soon put him in Kevin Blackwell’s bad books, and by the turn of the year, he was rarely seen in a red and white shirt again, before departing the club the following summer to head back to China.

Sun Jihai’s progression into the business world after football retirement

Sun went on to play for seven more years after leaving the Steel City, as he hung up his boots in 2016 after a career that spanned close to two decades.

Since then, he has gone on to form HaiQui Sports, which offers sports media, technology and "datatainment", with Sun himself hosting a talking show to promote the product.

As part of the product, Sun is also said to be involved in a sports social media app MiaoHi, which connects celebrities to fans, and his Jihai App, which offers a match prediction service.

MiaoHi is now said to be used by over 400 million people as the craze to be linked to the high and mighty of the world continues, with the Chinese national team using the platform during their 2018 World Cup qualification campaign.

With plenty of business acumen under his belt, Sun is now said to be worth £20 million due to his success in the digital world, ten times the amount City reportedly paid for him over 20 years ago.

It goes to show there is life after football for any player who wants it, with Sun now thriving in a completely different environment after calling it a day on his playing career.