It has been claimed that Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Lee Kang-in decided to stay at PSG this summer, rejecting huge offers.
France’s Futsur 7 reported on the 24th (Korean time) that “Lee Kang-in rejected two astronomical proposals.”
Lee Kang-in got off to a good start this season with outstanding performances for PSG. He scored two goals in six games and captivated fans with his leading performance in the team’s impact on the game in addition to his offensive points.
Even the opposing team’s manager was impressed. Coach Erik Roy, who is leading the Brest, personally named Lee Kang-in after the match against PSG, and evaluated him as “really impressive.” Nevertheless, Coach Luiz Enrique uses Lee Kang-in’s rotation as a quasi-mainstream player rather than a clear starting player, and has not received a steady chance to start.
In the summer transfer market just before this season, it was argued that Lee Kang-in could leave the team for the first time in a season after joining PSG with the attention of several clubs. It seems that even astronomical amounts were included.
“Lee Kang-in plans to leave his mark on PSG,” Futsur 7 said. According to the news of Le Parisien, major European clubs paid attention to Lee Kang-in’s situation. Napoli also showed interest, and some Saudi clubs made an unconventional offer. It can be said that their popularity exploded just one season after wearing PSG uniforms. However, Lee Kang-in did not respond to these suggestions, and PSG took the same position.”
“Lee Kang-in is an important player for the coach, except for the marketing aspect of being the biggest seller of club uniforms after Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar left. Therefore, we will completely exclude his sales while the contract remains until June 2028,” he said, explaining that PSG will never sell Lee Kang-in.
The interest of the English Premier League (EPL) and Saudi Arabia for Lee Kang-in was specifically conveyed during the summer transfer market. French foot Mercato said, “Saudi is preparing a mega proposal for Lee Kang-in and PSG. One club wants to make him one of the highest-paid players in the league. At the same time, he will also make a mega proposal to PSG. We have to see what PSG will do about Lee Kang-in, who was signed until June 2028.
If what was said at the time was true, Lee Kang-in could have been offered a truly astronomical amount by Saudi Arabia. Currently, the highest-paid player in Saudi Arabia is Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Alnasr in January 2023 and is reportedly receiving 200 million euros (about 300 billion won) in annual salary. The transfer fee is also a huge offer, and an offer that compares to the record of PSG senior Neymar may arrive. The highest transfer fee in modern soccer is 222 million euros (about 330 billion won) recorded by Neymar when he transferred to PSG. 토토사이트
Saudi Arabia may have been more interested in recruiting Lee Kang-in after seeing PSG’s case. Lee Kang-in is said to have already competed for first and second place in sales of the club’s uniforms right after joining PSG last season, and French media said, “Lee Kang-in partially filled the departure of Lionel Messi and Neymar.” Lee Kang-in was also surprised, saying, “He is the player who has sold the most uniforms after Mbappe in offline stores.”
Not only Saudi Arabia but also the EPL were active. French media said, “The EPL club offered 70 million euros (about 100 billion won) for Lee Kang-in. PSG wants to keep Lee Kang-in. It has already rejected the EPL club’s offer, and wants to keep Lee Kang-in. Lee Kang-in is also very good at PSG, and he does not want to leave PSG for the time being. Therefore, Lee Kang-in will remain at PSG in the 2024-2025 season,” explaining that the EPL club offered a huge amount of money to recruit Lee Kang-in, but failed to persuade both the player and the club.
Despite the tremendous proposal, Lee Kang-in, who chose to stay to compete for PSG’s starting position, is proving his value with outstanding performance this season. It is regrettable that Enrique has not yet considered Lee Kang-in as a clear starting player. As for Lee Kang-in, if the situation is repeated, the suggestions of the previous summer may be even more regrettable, but if the performance continues, the courtship against Lee Kang-in is expected to continue next summer.