Former Everton star Li Tie has been sentenced to life in prison for corruption in his home country of China, according to reports.
Li made 40 appearances across all competitions for Everton having spent four years at the Premier League club from 2002 to 2006 after initially arriving on loan.
The 46-year-old, who managed the China national team between 2019 and 2021, also had a spell at Sheffield United as player but only featured once for the team.
Li is now set to spend the rest of his life behind bars, according to reports, amid a Chinese crackdown on corruption in football.
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Just a year after leaving his role as manager of his nation, Li was ‘suspected of accepting and offering bribes’ by the Chinese public prosecutor.
In a televised confession on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Li said he had paid around £330,000 to manage the national football team.
The former defensive midfielder also revealed he had played a role in a match-fixing scandal to secure promotions with club teams he featured for in China.
‘I’m very sorry,’ Li said in a televised statement. ‘I should have kept my head to the ground and followed the right path. There were certain things that at the time were common practices in football.
‘By gaining ‘success’ through such improper means, it actually made me more and more impatient and eager for quick results.
‘In order to achieve good performance, I resorted to influencing referees, bribing opposing players and coaches, sometimes through clubs dealing with other club
