Losing a star player is never easy on a side, but it's not unreasonable to say that with Wu Lei's transfer from Shanghai SIPG to Spain's RCD Espanyol the CSL side have lost a player who is very much part of the heart and soul of the side, having made his debut for the club at just 14 years old.

As the all-time leading goalscorer and appearance-maker for the club, the 27-year-old forward's exit is, undeniably, a blow for the team, but Shanghai SIPG goalkeeper Yan Junling is insistent that the side need to - and are able to - maintain the kind of form that saw them crowned China PR's league champions last year.

The vastly experienced 37-year-old defender captained Ulsan Hyundai to the AFC Champions League title in 2012, scoring the first goal in a 3-0 victory over Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli in the final, as they completed a stunning run of nine victories in a row to be crowned kings of Asia.

Kwak, who joined the Changwon side prior to the 2019 campaign, then finished as a runner-up with Al Hilal in 2014, and, more recently, was part of the FC Seoul team that eliminated Tuesday’s opponents at the quarter-final stage in 2016.

The defender’s last appearance in the tournament came in the 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in the second leg of the 2017 final as the 2-1 aggregate victory saw the Japanese team add to their 2007 title to become Continental champions for a second time.

Urawa failed to qualify for the 2018 edition, however, meaning Makino and his teammates had to watch on as domestic rivals Kashima Antlers were crowned kings of Asia. But the Saitama side secured their return to the AFC Champions League after winning the Emperor’s Cup at the end of last year.

The Doha club stole the headlines in the first half of 2018, winning eight games in a row on their march to the quarter-finals, before they matched Ulsan Hyundai’s record of nine successive wins, from 2012, by defeating Persepolis 1-0 in the first leg of the quarter-finals.

A 3-1 defeat in the return meeting saw Al Duhail exit but, having since acquired high-calibre signings including Medhi Benatia and Shoya Nakajima, and boasting several players – including Al Rawi – from Qatar’s victorious AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 campaign, the defender believes Al Duhail are ready to challenge for the Continental trophy.

In the above slideshow, you will find all 29 designated home grounds for use in this year's edition of the tournament, ranked in order from largest to smallest capacity.

From Omar Abdulrahman to Wu Lei to Omar Khribin, some of the biggest stars in Asian football have announced themselves through the AFC Champions League over the years.

The Continent's prime club competition returns with the group stage of the 2019 edition starting next week. The-AFC.com looks at 10 players the age of 22 and under who could be the next big hit in this year's campaign.

From the likes of household names in Keisuke Honda of Melbourne Victory and Bafetimbi Gomis at Al Hilal to prolific scorers like Al Ahli's Djaniny and Buriram United's Diogo, there will be plenty of new stars set to shine on Asian club football's grandest stage in this year's continental competition.

While the above have already spent several months at their new clubs, or previously appeared in the AFC Champions League, we look at some of the most recent signings and reveal what they could bring to their teams at the 2019 edition.