“Atletico Madrid Sets Transfer Fee for Korean Midfielder Lee Kang-in at 29.1 Billion Won”

Atlético Madrid (hereafter referred to as AT Madrid), a prestigious Spanish professional soccer team, has started in earnest to recruit Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in (Mallorca).

Spanish soccer media Football España said on the 7th, “La Liga prestigious AT Madrid has selected Lee Kang as the first target for recruitment this summer. We plan to become a team that can challenge for the championship by strengthening our offense.”

As soon as Lee Kang-in became a regular starter in Mallorca this season, he rose to become a top midfielder in the league. With 6 goals and 4 assists this season, he became the first Korean player to record double-digit offensive points on the La Liga stage. In the previous game against Getafe, he scored two goals, adding the first multi-goal record for a Korean player in one game. He was also named in the April Player of the Month and Team Midfielder of the Year categories.

When there was not enough experience, there was criticism that speed and the ability to participate in defense were relatively lacking, but all concerns and controversies were put to rest after becoming the main player. He has been reborn as the focal point of the team’s attack with his high-level off-pressure ability and accurate passing and shooting skills.

At the age of 22 (born in 2001), Lee Kang-in, who has unlimited potential for growth and has the title of ‘Asia’s best prospect from U-20 FIFA World Cup MVP’, is receiving love calls from many big clubs in Europe.

Several Premier League clubs are showing active interest in Lee Kang-in early on. Aston Villa, Newcastle, Brighton, etc. have publicly expressed their intention to recruit, and Son Heung-min’s team, Tottenham, is also eyeing it.

AT Madrid has been looking at Lee Kang-in’s situation behind the scenes, but recently it seems to be starting to recruit in earnest. In fact, it is one of the teams with a very high possibility of transfer. Even if Lee Kang-in, who grew up on the La Liga stage, transfers, not only does he not need to adapt to the environment, but he has the advantage of being able to experience the European club competition stage as a top-class La Liga club.

As Lee Kang-in, who has signed a contract until 2025, needs permission from the original team Mallorca to transfer midway, financially, AT Madrid’s love call is attractive. Lee Kang-in’s buyout (a transfer fee that can be negotiated directly with the player without the permission of the original team) was initially known to be 17 million euros (24.8 billion won), but Mallorca coach Javier Aguirre said in a press conference directly that he paid 30 million euros (43.7 billion won). It is said that the related controversy has been settled.

While no team has yet appeared to sign Lee Kang-in after paying the full buyout amount, AT Madrid set a ransom of 20 million euros (29.1 billion won) and called for a relatively high amount. According to As of Spain, the transfer fee offered by the team that wants Lee Kang-in so far is known to be 15 million euros (21.8 billion won). 20 million euros is the amount that Mallorca offered as an appropriate transfer fee for Kang-in Lee, and as AT Madrid expressed their willingness to pay this amount, there is a possibility that Kang-in Lee’s ransom price will rise even more.

Lee Kang-in received interest from several teams last winter, but Mallorca refused to approve the transfer as the maximum transfer fee at the time was only 10 million euros (14.6 billion won). The fact that AT Madrid offered 20 million euros means that Lee Kang-in’s ransom doubled in the next three to four months.

Song Jihoon ([email protected])