Man City cult hero is now multi-millionaire TV talk show host and businessman
How do you respond to conceding eight goals?
If your name is Sun Jihai, the answer is to put eight figures in the bank.
The former Manchester City defender was part of Sven-Goran Eriksson's side that famously lost 8-1 at Middlesbrough in May 2008, a result that has become part of Premier League folklore thanks to City's dominance under Pep Guardiola and his predecessors in recent years.
While City have won six Premier League titles since their humiliation, Sun has banked a whopping £20million through his business empire, launching a successful sports data company called 'HaiQui (HQ) Sports' after retiring in 2016. He's also got his own talk show.
City fans will remember Sun fondly after his six-and-a-half-year spell in Manchester. The China international, who enjoyed a loan spell at Crystal Palace in the 90s, joined City from Dalian Shide in February 2002 to boost their promotion charge under Kevin Keegan.
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City went on to win the First Division (now known as the Championship) before establishing themselves in the Premier League, with Sun often appearing at right-back. Yet the defender was released after that defeat to Middlesbrough in the summer of 2008, with Sheikh Mansour and his billions arriving in Manchester a few months later.
Aged 30, Sun decided to continue his career by signing for Championship side Sheffield United. Thanks to the emergence of young defenders Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker, the veteran struggled for minutes at Bramall Lane and joined United's sister club Chengdu Blades a year later with just 12 Championship appearances to his name.
The Chinese star has become a successful businessman since retiring (Getty Images)Do you remember Sun Jihai? Let us know in the comments below!
Sun went on to play for another three clubs in China before launching his successful company. HQ sports offer a variety of sports media, technology and data services - including an app that connects celebrities with fans and a betting data app. The ex-player also launched his own talk show to promote the company's services.
Sun explained his career move in an interview with the Daily Star in 2017. He said: "I was thinking about creating the company in November 2015 and the company was formed in February 2016 - the decision was taken quite quickly.
"It would be rather difficult for your average footballer to enter the technology sector. I was fortunate to have friends and partners who know about technology and other similar areas."
Sven-Goran Eriksson's Manchester City were humiliated at Middlesbrough in May 2008 (Getty Images)HQ Sports has attracted plenty of investment and users, with his celebrities app - called 'MiaoHi' - gaining 400 million accounts. The app even scored a lucrative deal with China's football team to stream content during their unsuccessful 2018 World Cup bid.
Sun, now 45, pins his success on collaborating with others. In his interview with the Daily Star, he added: "Talk to different friends who have the capability, not just on the financial side, but also on the business side. When you know more and learn more about the market then perhaps you can figure out something interesting to do.
"But as an athlete you need to have a team of people. Success in the commercial world is really difficult to achieve by yourself. The team is very important."
It's believed Sun's net worth has grown to more than to £20m thanks to his business acumen. He also remains involved in football as the vice-chair of the football association in the Xinjiang region and has questioned the number of overseas managers in China.
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After Slaven Bilic was appointed by Beijing Guoan in 2021, Sun said: "Foreign coaches come to China for a very simple purpose: a pay check. Otherwise what are they coming for? Do they want to improve the level of Chinese soccer? Then what have they done?"
In fairness to Sun, you're entitled to criticise when you've been successful both on and off the pitch.
Just like Eriksson and the rest of City's team that day, Sun will never be able to escape that 8-1 defeat... but his huge bank balance will offer plenty of comfort.
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