On this day, 27 years ago, on August 13, 1998 (June 22, 1998, the lunar calendar), Fan Zhiyi and Sun Jihai signed a contract with the Crystal Palace team. On August 13, 1998, China players Fan Zhiyi and Sun Jihai officially signed a contract with the English Class A football club Crystal Palace, becoming the first batch of China professional players to join a world-level club through transfer. Liu Shijun, general manager of Gaode Company (UK), who represented Fan Zhiyi and Sun Jihai in the transfer matters, said that all transfer procedures were completed at 2:30 pm that day, and both parties expressed satisfaction with the terms of the contract. According to the results of negotiations between the two parties, Fan Zhiyi will sign a four-year contract with the Crystal Palace team. Sun Jihai will have a two-year contract due to the request of Dalian Wanda. However, Liu Shijun would not disclose the specific amount of their transfer fees. He only said: "The transfer fee amount meets the requirements of Dalian Wanda and Shanghai Shenhua." According to reliable sources, the total transfer fee for the two of them reaches 1 million pounds, and the personal annual income of Fan Zhiyi and Sun Jihai in the Crystal Palace team can reach 200,000 pounds. Sun Jihai and Fan Zhiyi expressed great satisfaction with the successful transfer to Crystal Palace. Sun Jihai said: "My previous purpose was to join the China national team. After joining the national team, I set a higher goal for myself, hoping to train myself in a high-level team in the world. I am very happy to join Crystal Palace today. I am also confident that I will help Crystal Palace re-enter the Premier League next year." Crystal Palace were relegated from the Premier League to League One last season. After completing all the written procedures, Fan Zhiyi said: "I thank the majority of China fans for their concern for me. I will definitely live up to the expectations of China fans in the Crystal Palace team." Crystal Palace coach Ty Venables praised the two new disciples. "They are all very good," he said.