Lee Kang-in visited the Estadio Mallorca Sonmo city in Mallorca, Spain, on the 30th (Korea time). The 14th round of Spain’s La Liga between Mallorca and Cardis in the 2023-2024 season was held at the Mallorca Stadium. Lee Kang-in visited the stadium on the day and watched the match against Mallorca at his home stadium for the first time since last season.
Lee Kang-in was seen sitting with Muriki, who is currently unable to participate in the acupuncture game due to an injury, on the club’s SNS. Muriki led the attack on Mallorca with a great deal of chemistry last season with Lee Kang-in, and the two players appeared to have a good time sitting in the stands smiling even when they belonged to different teams.
Lee Kang-in’s visit to Mallorca has already been known through Spanish media. Spanish media Marca paid attention to Lee Kang-in’s visit, saying, “A special guest, Lee Kang-in, will visit the heavy seat at home in Mallorca. He left after paying a transfer fee, and it was his first visit to his former team.” 토토사이트
Fans in Mallorca were excited when news of Lee Kang-in’s visit spread on the club’s SNS. Fans did not hide their longing for Lee Kang-in on the club’s SNS, saying, “Let’s rent the stadium as collateral,” “I hope he comes back,” and “I really miss you.” I could see that Lee Kang-in left a great performance in Mallorca as much as the fans’ longing.
Lee Kang-in showed his best performance in Mallorca last season, drawing a lot of attention. Having grown into a key player in Mallorca in the 2022-2023 season, he led the team with his tremendous presence. It was not smooth from the beginning. In his first season as a member of Mallorca, he was unable to start as a starter due to being pushed out of the competition for the starting lineup. However, one season was enough for Lee to adapt.
In the 2022-2023 season, Lee Kang-in played regardless of winger, second striker, and midfielder, and was the center of Mallorca’s rise. De-pressure, which was an advantage, shone, and his participation in defense and physical struggle, which were pointed out as weaknesses, grew further. He often showed his team’s attack with sharp kicks. Muriki, the main striker of Mallorca, was a fantastic combination, and Muriki’s header following Lee Kang-in’s kick became a threatening weapon.
Lee Kang-in, who is full of soccer skills as the core of the team’s attack, has made a lot of profits and influence on the club commercially as well. To see him, many Korean soccer fans visited Mallorca Island and the club, and various goods and sales revenues also rose exponentially.
Lee Kang-in, who showed tremendous growth in Mallorca, immediately received explosive attention in the transfer market last summer. La Liga’s Atletico Madrid was ranked first. Atletico were actually a team that had been eyeing to take Lee Kang-in since January. However, due to lack of funds, it could not pay the transfer fee that Mallorca wanted.
English Premier League teams such as Brighton, Newcastle, Wolverhampton and Burnley have emerged as alternatives, but the actual transfer probability was not considered large. La Liga Betis, Sevilla and Real Sociedad were also mentioned, but they were only interested. Against this backdrop, PSG appeared.
It was reported that PSG decided to pay for Lee Kang-in’s transfer fee and actively sought to recruit him. There was also news that a medical test was conducted in Paris. Lee Kang-in did not respond to transfer-related issues during the two consecutive A-matches ahead of his transfer, but the news that he had completed the medical test turned out to be true after the transfer was announced.
Lee Kang-in, who has joined a top European team, said on his website, “It is amazing to be able to join PSG. PSG is one of the best big clubs in the world. I have some of the greatest players in the world,” adding, “I can’t wait to start this new adventure.”
Lee Kang-in’s transfer fee is reportedly 22 million euros. Mallorca had the highest transfer income ever recorded. Lee reportedly earns 500,000 euros a year from Mallorca, but his annual salary soared eight-fold to 4 million euros when he signed a new contract with PSG. Lee also shared profits with Mallorca. Lee reportedly promised with his team that he would receive 20 percent of the transfer fee incurred when leaving the club, instead of giving up the down payment when he joined Mallorca. Therefore, Mallorca is required to pay 4.4 million euros, or 20 percent of the 22 million euros. With this provision alone, Lee will be paid more than one year’s annual salary at once.
Lee Kang-in has continued to play even after transferring to PSG. However, it was not a smooth start again this time. As soon as he joined the team, he suffered two injuries, which made it difficult to secure playing time. After returning from injury, he was immediately called to the national team and had to sit out for about a month.
However, Coach Luis Enrique kept his faith in Lee Kang-in even after returning from his national team schedule. He immediately started against Strasbourg, and even scored his first goal for PSG in the third round of the European Champions League group stage against AC Milan at home on April 26, even though he was a substitute. At that time, Lee scored his third goal in the 44th minute of the second half when his team was leading by two goals, and PSG won 3-0.
He continued to play well in the league. Lee, who started as a starter in the away match of Brest in the 10th round of the league following the match against Strasbourg, successfully scored an offensive point for the second consecutive game by assisting Mbappe in scoring with outstanding passes. In the match against Montpellier that followed, he scored the winning goal and the first goal in the league.
He was also selected as the “Migrant Team” in the first division for two consecutive weeks. Lee Kang-in, who was selected as the “Migrant Team” in the 10th round by scoring an offensive point in the match against Brest, was recognized for his performance in the 11th round based on the winning goal in the match against Montpellier, and was named as the “Migrant Team” for the second consecutive week.
French media Foot Mercato also called Lee Kang-in one of the best recruits, saying, “The transfer market, the best players in the league.” Foot Mercato said, “Lee Kang-in has set a curve. He was absent in the Asian Games, which was his first injury and only played as a substitute, but he is gradually revealing his presence and justifying the transfer fee of 22 million euros,” paying attention to Lee Kang-in’s performance right after the transfer.
After Mallorca, he proved his popularity with his huge sales of uniforms at PSG. Fabrice Hawkins, a leading reporter for RMC Sports in France, said, “Lee Kang-in is currently leading the list of players with the most uniforms sold in the store, followed by Neymar and Marquinos,” paying attention to Lee Kang-in’s immense popularity from the pre-season. After the opening of the season, Lee Kang-in even beat Mbappe in uniform sales. Some media commented that Lee Kang-in’s joining PSG is still less than half a season ago, but it is a clear hit.
It was a moment when Mallorca fans could also feel a lot of gratitude and longing for Lee Kang-in, who didn’t forget to visit Mallorca despite his performance at PSG.