Raphaël Merkies

Raphaël Ayrton Lee Merkies (; born 15 April 2002) is a professional footballer who currently plays as a left winger for Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan. Born in France, he plays for the Hong Kong national team.

Club career HKFC Merkies began his professional career in 2022 by taking a gap year off university, having been promoted to the HKFC first team ahead of the 2022–23 Hong Kong Premier League season. The young winger made his league debut in a 1–0 victory over Sham Shui Po in the opening day fixture.

Merkies departed the club at the end of the season.

Southern On 10 June 2023, Merkies joined Southern, signing his first professional contract. He went on to take time off school and announced his decision to pursue football as a full-time passion prior to signing with Southern. Merkies netted his first goal for Southern in once again a Hong Kong Sapling Cup tie against his former club HKFC in a 2–2 draw away from home.

Shandong Taishan On 14 February 2025, Merkies joined Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan.

International career On 10 October 2024, Merkies received his HKSAR passport after staying in Hong Kong for seven years, making him eligible to represent Hong Kong internationally.

After acquiring his HKSAR passport, Merkies was named in the 52-man preliminary squad in preparation for the national team's friendly fixtures for November 2024.

On 19 March 2025, Merkies made his international debut for Hong Kong in a friendly match against Macau and scored his first international goal.

On 9 October 2025, Merkies scored a hat-trick, including a crucial goal in the eleventh minute of stoppage time against Bangladesh in a 4–3 away win in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification third round.

Personal life Growing up in the suburbs of Paris, Merkies moved to Hong Kong in 2016 aged 14,

Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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2017–18