It’s a dream come true. Lee Kang-in (22) fills the void left by Lionel Messi.
Mbappe scores a goal from a Lee pass. Neymar and Lee, Brazil’s two biggest superstars, dribble through the opposition’s defence. It’s something that could only be imagined. South Korean football god Lee Kang-in, 22, has left Mallorca (Spain) to don the colours of ‘French giants’ Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
On the 9th (Korean time), PSG announced on its website, “We have finalised the transfer with Mallorca. We have signed Lee Kang-in until 2028.” With the move, Lee will begin a new chapter in his career in French Ligue 1 after spending five seasons in La Liga (three with Valencia and two with Mallorca), scoring 10 goals in 135 official matches (three in 62 with Valencia and seven in 73 with Mallorca) since making his first-team debut for Valencia CF in October 2018.
Lee’s transfer fee was not disclosed, but is estimated to be €22 million ($31.1 billion). This is the second highest transfer fee for a Korean player in history, behind the €30 million ($42.6 billion) Son Heung-min (Tottenham) paid for his move to Tottenham in August 2015. There are even reports that 20 per cent of the transfer fee (approximately 6.3 billion won) will go to Lee Kang-in.
Kim Min-jae’s upcoming move to Bayern Munich (Germany) is said to have a buyout (minimum transfer fee) of €50 million (approx. KRW 71 billion), and if the deal is finalised, Kim will be ranked first, Son Heung-min second and Lee Kang-in third in Korean football history.
The reason PSG signed Lee is simple. He is expected to fill the void left by Lionel Messi, who recently left PSG to join Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer (MLS) 꽁머니지급.
It is especially fortunate that PSG appointed a new coach, the Spanish ‘master’ Luis Enrique, on the 5th, and Lee Kang-in was able to communicate freely with him in Spanish. “My mission is to help the team as much as possible,” Lee told PSG’s website, “I want to help the team win every game and win as many titles as possible.”
As the first Korean player to play for PSG, Lee has been given the number 19 shirt. It is the number he wore at Mallorca.
Lee scored two goals and provided four assists at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, winning the tournament’s Golden Ball. He left Valencia as a free agent in August 2021, signing a four-year contract with Mallorca, and will wear the tricolour at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they reached the round of 16.
PSG are France’s top club, with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Marquinhos, Fabian Luis and other ‘world class’ players. Since being acquired by Qatar Sports Investments, the capital of the Qatari royal family, in 2011, the club has won the French top flight title nine times, including last season.
Meanwhile, Seo Jung-won joined Strasbourg in January 1998 and became the first Korean player to play in the French league. Since then, Lee Sang-yoon (Lorient), Lee Stable (Metz), Park Joo-young (Monaco), Nam Tae-hee (Valenciennes), Chung Jo-kook (Auxerre), Kwon Chang-hoon (Dijon), Suk Hyun-joon (Troyes), Hwang Eui-jo (Bordeaux), and Yoon Il-rok (Montpellier) have played in France, but Lee is the first Korean to join the world’s biggest club, PSG.