"Finally confirmed as a starter, the manager wants to sign him." Lee Kang-in transfer is now official... credible sources confirm

*This content was translated by AI.

The possibility of Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), a key midfielder for the South Korean national football team, returning to Spain's La Liga has become increasingly concrete. A journalist well-versed in transfer market news directly mentioned Atletico Madrid's serious interest and specific negotiation process regarding Lee Kang-in.

Journalist Matteo Moretto recently shared detailed information about Lee Kang-in's transfer situation through his social networking service (SNS) video. Moretto stated, "Atletico still wants to strengthen its squad. The name that has strongly reappeared on the table is none other than Lee Kang-in."

According to Moretto's analysis, Lee Kang-in is known to be a player desired not only by Atletico's sports director department but especially by manager Diego Simeone. He added, "Manager Simeone has had Lee Kang-in on his acquisition list since the time he played for Mallorca and wanted him," noting that "dialogue has already taken place between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Atletico, the club, and the player's side."

Furthermore, European transfer market expert Fabricio Romano previously reported that PSG and Atletico had reached an agreement on the transfer fee. Lee Kang-in's transfer fee is estimated to be around 40 million euros (approximately 70 billion won).

Initially, transfer rumors between Atletico and Lee Kang-in seemed to be progressing somewhat slowly, but they gained momentum after it was confirmed that the South Korean national team would not advance from the group stage of the 2026 FIFA North, Central America and Caribbean Cup.

This is a massive transfer. According to football statistics specialist media 'Transfermarkt', Lee Kang-in's projected transfer fee of 40 million euros matches the amount recorded when Radamel Falcao joined Atletico from Porto in 2011, ranking as the joint eighth-highest in the club's history. In Asian football history, it also ranks second all-time, alongside Abdoukodir Husanov, who moved to Manchester City in 2025.

The highest fee ever recorded is held by Kim Min-jae, who transferred to Bayern Munich in 2023 for 50 million euros. Third place is Sho Nishizaki (35 million euros), and fourth place is Son Heung-min, who joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2015 for 30 million euros.

Lee Kang-in already recorded a transfer fee of 22 million euros when he moved from Mallorca to PSG in 2023, holding the 11th-highest record in this category. With this move, Lee Kang-in becomes only the third player to appear twice on the top 15 list of all-time Asian transfer fees, following Hidetoshi Nakata (who played for Parma and Roma) and Son Heung-min (who transferred to LAFC in 2025).

Since entering the French stage in 2023, Lee Kang-in has delivered outstanding performances with PSG, appearing in 124 career matches with 16 goals and 16 assists. He has grown into a top-class midfielder, winning three Ligue 1 titles, two Coupe de France trophies, and lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy twice.

Although he primarily served as a backup and rotation player on the French stage, Lee Kang-in is now ready to leap into a new team as a solid core starter under manager Simeone's strong trust.

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*This content was translated by AI.