Lin Liangming started his football career when he joined Guangzhou R&F's youth academy in 2010. On 22 July 2015, Lin transferred to La Liga side Real Madrid for a transfer fee of €200,000, signing a five-year contract with the club, becoming the first ever East Asian footballer to sign for Real Madrid.[1][2] He was placed in Real Madrid Juvenil to play for the under-19 side during the 2015-16 season.[3][4] In July 2016, Lin was promoted to the club's reserve team Real Madrid Castilla.[5] He made his debut for the reserve team on 20 August 2016 in a 3–2 win against Real Sociedad B, assisting Sergio Díaz's winning goal in the 90th minute.
After negotiating with the Portuguese clubs C.S. Marítimo and Gondomar S.C. (who also owned part of his contract), Lin would return to China to join top tier club Dalian Professional on 28 February 2020, initially on loan with the option to make it permanent.[11] He would make his debut in a league game on 26 July 2020 against Shandong Luneng Taishan in a 3-2 defeat.[12] This would be followed by his first goal for the club, which was in a league game on 29 August 2020 against Shandong Luneng Taishan where he scored the winner in a 1-0 victory.[13]
On 23 March 2023, Lin made his senior international debut in a 0–0 away draw against New Zealand.[16] On 16 June 2023, Lin scored his first international goal in a 4–0 home win over Myanmar in an international friendly game played in Dalian, the same city where he also played club football at the time. [17]
Lin was named in China's squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar and appeared as a 72nd minute substitute in the team's opening match against Tajikistan on 13 January 2024.[18]