Li Jinyu is seen during his retirement ceremony in Jinan, East China`s Shandong province, Jan 5, 2011. [Photo/sina.com]

JINAN - Former Chinese international striker Li Jinyu, 33, has decided to hang up his boots, his club Shandong Luneng confirmed late on Tuesday.

"The club management had tried to persuade Li out of his decision but failed. We respect his decision," Luneng said in a statement.

One of the best strikers in China, Li made his fame early when he was the star of the Chinese youth team that studied in Brazil for a training program sponsored by Jianlibao, a renowned Chinese soft drink company.

He played in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, which attracted the interest of French team AS Nancy who signed him on loan for one season. But Li`s time at AS Nancy was not successful and he would return back to China with Liaoning FC.

In 2004, Li transferred from Liaoning FC to Shandong Luneng with a record fee of 4.9-million yuan (about $740,000), which made him the most expensive signing of the Chinese league.

Li helped Shandong to the Chinese Super League titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010. He is currently the top scorer in Chinese professional league history and has won the Golden Boot Award three times in the process _ in 2002, 2006 and 2007.

He played 70 matches for the Chinese national team and scored 22 during his career.