Li Shuai would play for the Changchun Yatai youth team before continuing with his development with Portuguese club Mafra.[1] On 5 January 2016 he would return to China to join China League One side Dalian Yifang (now known as Dalian Professional).[2] He made his senior debut on 12 March 2016 in a 2–0 home win over Zhejiang Yiteng.[3] On 9 April 2017, he scored his first senior goal in a 2–1 home win against Qingdao Huanghai.[4] He would go on to establish himself as a regular within the team and played in 16 league matches for the club as Dalian Yifang won the 2017 China League One division title and promotion to the first tier at the end of the season.[5]
Li would be linked with fellow top tier clubs Jiangsu Suning, Tianjin Quanjian and Guangzhou Evergrande in the 2018 winter transfer window. However, his former club Changchun Yatai submitted a claim to the Chinese Football Association for his ownership in January 2018 and held back any further transfers.[1] He stayed at Dalian Yifang and made his Chinese Super League debut on 3 March 2018 in an 8–0 crushing defeat against Shanghai SIPG, coming on for Wang Jinxian in the 66th minute.[6] Despite the defeat he would still remain a vital member of the team and go on to score his first first-tier league goal on 14 September 2018 in a 1–0 win over Tianjin Quanjian to secure Dalian's first away victory of the season.[7]
Li's contract with Dalian would come to an end and fellow top tier club Shanghai Port would sign him on a free transfer on 28 July 2022.[8] He would make his debut in a league game on 1 September 2022 against Cangzhou Mighty Lions in a 0-0 draw.[9]
International career
Li was called up to the China national team by Marcello Lippi on 8 September 2019,[10] but did not have his first appearance until the 10 October 2019 match against Guam.