Guo Jiaxuan, an 18-year-old Chinese footballer with a promising future, passed away just hours before his 19th birthday.
The young defender succumbed to complications from a severe head injury sustained during a training match in Spain on February 6, 2025.
Guo Jiaxuan was born in Beijing, China, on March 20, 2006. He emerged as a standout defender for Beijing Guoan’s U19 team.
His skill and dedication earned him accolades, including the title of Best Player in national U-series and Youth Super League events.
In 2023, he represented China’s U17 national team. In the same year, FC Bayern Munich discovered Guo’s talent and made him a part of the elite FC Bayern World Squad.
As the only Chinese player selected to the team, Guo was a symbol of hope for football in China.
But tragedy also befell during the Beijing Football Association’s training camp in Madrid, Spain.
On 6 February 2025, while playing a friendly game against RC Alcobendas, Guo suffered a devastating head injury when he collided with an opponent’s knee in a freak accident.
The punch caused a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a rare and lethal stroke resulting from bleeding on the brain’s surface. Unfortunately, Guo fell into a coma and was hospitalized and transported to Madrid.
Guo Jiaxuan’s Parents and Family Are Grieving His Passing!
As any caring father would, Guo Jiaxuan’s dad traveled to Spain and arrived on February 8. Once there, he declined the hospital’s recommendation to conduct an autopsy or to take his child off life support.
Instead, he held on to hope, suggesting that Guo be brought back to China for more treatment.
After negotiations with the Beijing Football Association, Guo was transported back to Beijing via a chartered medical flight, arriving on February 15.
He was admitted to Beijing Tiantan Hospital; however, his condition continued to deteriorate.
The family claimed that the organizations failed to secure insurance for the trip and neglected to cover mounting medical expenses.
Guo’s brother shared his frustration on the Chinese social media app RedNote, saying the family hadn’t received answers to their requests for match videos and details about how medical help was initially handled.
He wrote,
The family just want to know the truth, why is it so hard?
Even with all efforts to save him, Guo’s condition couldn’t be reversed. On March 19, 2025, after weeks of fighting his injury, doctors at Beijing Tiantan Hospital told the family that continuing treatment wouldn’t work.
By 8 p.m. that evening, Guo’s family made the heartbreaking choice to stop treatment, and he passed away shortly after, just hours before his 19th birthday.
His brother later shared a black-and-white photo on social media, captioning it, “He’ll forever be frozen on the last day of his 18th year.”
Beijing Guoan shared a touching statement, grieving the loss of “a child who loved football.”
FC Bayern Munich also mourned his passing, remembering Guo’s role in their World Squad and sending their sympathy to his family and friends.
