Yu Yang started his football career playing for Beijing Guoan's youth academy before eventually being promoted up to the senior squad and would go on to make his debut on 29 June 2008 in a 2-0 loss against Shanghai Shenhua.

[1] Yu would make four appearances at the end of the season; however, the following campaign he did not play in the team that won the 2009 top-tier league title.

[2] When Yu returned to Beijing at the beginning of the 2011 season, Jaime Pacheco was introduced as the new manager and he included him back into the first team.

[7] Yu left Guoan at the end of the 2022 Chinese Super League season when his contracted finished.

[8] On 4 April 2023 he would join fellow top tier club Tianjin Jinmen Tiger on a free transfer.