The fulfilling life and career of Vietnam's star midfielder

Hai celebrated his 27th birthday on April 12. He held a birthday party at home after his honeymoon with his wife Chu Thanh Huyen in Phu Quoc.

Nguyen Quang Hai and his wife Chu Thanh Huyen during their honeymoon in Phu Quoc, April 2024. Photo by Nguyen Quang Hai

Hai is one of the most prominent players in Vietnam.

He first rose to stardom with a stellar performance at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship, where Vietnam finished as runners-up.

He later became a key player for the national team and with them won the 2019 SEA Games gold medal and 2018 AFF Cup and advanced to the final qualifiers of the World Cup for the first time in the country's history.

At the club level, Hai has won all domestic titles including four V. Leagues, two National Cups and two Super Cups.

He won the 2018 Vietnamese Golden Ball, was the best player of the 2018 AFF Cup, 2018 Asian Best XI, 2019 Asian Cup best XI and best Southeast Asian player in 2019. He also went to Europe to play for Pau FC in the French second division Ligue 2 in 2022. Hai is also the first Vietnamese player to score in an European professional football league.

Nguyen Quang Hai buys a Mercedes in 2020. Photo by Nguyen Quang Hai

Outside of football, Hai is living a happy life with his newlywed wife Chu Thanh Huyen. After three years of dating, the couple got engaged on Jan. 1 and then tied the knot in a lavish wedding on March 28. At a ceremony on April 6, they announced they are expecting their first child.

Success in football has given Hai a comfortable life and has enabled him to take good care of his family financially. In 2020, the midfielder bought his first Mercedes, with a listed price of about VND2.4 billion ($95,856). In the same year, Hai saved money to buy two apartments in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. In 2021, he also bought his parents a Vinfast car worth nearly half a billion dong.

Besides beautiful homes and luxury cars, Hai is also known as a big spender among Vietnamese players. He often wears super expensive watches and designer clothes when going out. He also spent hundreds of millions of dong buying handbags and luxury items for his wife.