'Sexual assault controversy' leads to abandonment of signing a problematic player → Lee Kang-in heads to Atletico... "Deal finalized," confident Spanish sources confirm

*This content was translated by AI.

The return of South Korea national team's key midfielder Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) to Spain's La Liga is finally imminent. Atletico Madrid has withdrawn from its pursuit of Mason Greenwood (Marseille) and entered the final stage to finalize the acquisition of Lee Kang-in.

British outlet 'Tribuna' cited Spanish media 'Marca' and transfer market expert Matteo Moreto on the 13th (Korea time), stating, "Atletico is on the verge of signing PSG midfielder Lee Kang-in," adding, "A deal between the two clubs has already been agreed upon. Document exchange is currently underway. The transfer process will be completed shortly."

According to Moreto, Atletico set Lee Kang-in as its top priority target in this summer's transfer market and accelerated negotiations.

Furthermore, with Greenwood increasingly likely to join Fenerbahce, it has become certain that Lee Kang-in will join Atletico. Greenwood left Manchester United in 2022 amid controversy over allegations of sexual assault against his girlfriend, later playing for Getafe and Marseille.

Securing a starting position is also highly probable. According to local Spanish reports, Diego Simeone has reportedly wanted to sign Lee Kang-in since the latter's time at Mallorca and had kept him on his acquisition list.

Earlier, Fabrizio Romano, Europe's top transfer market insider, announced via his personal social networking service that "the agreed transfer fee for Lee Kang-in between PSG and Atletico is around 40 million euros (approximately 70 billion won)." The previously stalled negotiations gained momentum after South Korea's national team was confirmed to be eliminated from the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Lee Kang-in's move to Atletico will go down as a landmark transfer in Asian football history. According to football statistics specialist 'Transfermarkt', Lee Kang-in's 40 million euro transfer fee matches the amount recorded when Radamel Falcao joined Atletico in 2011, ranking it as the eighth-highest fee in the club's history. Among Asian players, this places him second all-time, alongside Abdoukader Kader Houssein, who transferred to Manchester City in 2025. The record highest fee remains with Kim Min-jae, who moved to Bayern Munich in 2023 for 50 million euros.

When Lee Kang-in moved from Mallorca to PSG in 2023, he recorded a transfer fee of 22 million euros. If this transfer is finalized, Lee Kang-in will become the third player to appear twice on the top 15 list of all-time Asian football transfer fees, following Hidetoshi Nakata and Son Heung-min.

Since entering the French stage in 2023, Lee Kang-in has made 124 appearances for PSG, scoring 16 goals and providing 16 assists. His career is equally impressive, with three Ligue 1 titles, two Coupe de France victories, and two UEFA Champions League trophies.

Although he primarily served as a backup and rotation player at PSG, Lee Kang-in is now expected to emerge as a key starter for Atletico from the 2026-2027 season under the club's renewed commitment after long-standing interest in him.

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*This content was translated by AI.