Chinese football player Guo Jiaxuan. –BAYERN FC
A promising Chinese footballer who suffered a serious head injury while playing in Spain has died a day wanting his nineteenth birthday, his club said Thursday.
Guo fell right into a coma last month after an accident during a training match between a Beijing U-20 team and Spanish side RC Alcobendas in Madrid.
The youth international was declared “brain dead” by local doctors before being flown to a Beijing hospital after his condition deteriorated, where he died on Wednesday evening.
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The teenager’s family has accused the Beijing Football Association of withholding information concerning the incident and failing to speak with them.
Guo with a part of the youth set-up at Beijing Guoan and the top-tier club vowed to “do its utmost to properly handle the aftermath and supply all vital help and support to Guo Jiaxuan’s family”.
“We’ve lost a toddler who loves football. May Jiaxuan rest in peace!” the club said in a post on social media.
The particular circumstances that led to Guo’s fatal injury remain unclear.
FC Bayern mourns the passing of former World Squad player Guo Jiaxuan.
Our thoughts are along with his family and friends.
🔗 https://t.co/zCIGuIMLac pic.twitter.com/kZlHRozCUA
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) March 20, 2025
His family have demanded video footage of the match, details on Guo’s medical treatment before he reached hospital and data about his insurance.
Guo’s brother posted on social media a black and white photo of the young defender with the caption: “He’ll without end be frozen on the last day of his 18th 12 months.”
His family “just want the reality and justice”, the brother wrote earlier this week.
Guo played for the U-19 team of Beijing Guoan and was chosen for China’s U-17 side in 2023.
The identical 12 months he was also a part of the FC Bayern World Squad project run by Germany’s largest club for talented players across the globe.
“The club’s thoughts are along with his family and friends,” Bayern Munich said in a press release.
In a web based statement, the Beijing FA said it had avoided “disclosing information” because the incident to “avoid irrelevant personnel interfering with medical work, and taking into consideration the sentiments of relations”.
It added that they had now obtained video footage of the match and arranged experts to investigate it.
“We now have made every effort to coordinate medical resources for treatment and meet the needs of his family as much as possible”, the Beijing FA said.
Lots of of social media users offered condolences.
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“It’s a lack of such a shiny future at such a young age,” one user wrote.
“I wish him comfortable playing in heaven,” one other said.
