*This content was translated by AI.
Hwang In-beom (30), a key midfielder for South Korean football, will don the jersey of Portuguese powerhouse FC Porto. The contract spans three years with an option to extend by one additional year.
Portuguese outlet "Record" reported on the 18th (Korean time) that "Porto has reached a preliminary agreement to sign Hwang In-beom from Feyenoord for a transfer fee of €5 million (approximately ₩8.5 billion)."
According to media reports, Hwang is scheduled to arrive in Porto around 10 p.m. on the 19th to undergo medical examinations and officially sign the contract.
The outlet explained that "Head coach Francesco Paoli can immediately deploy Hwang starting from the official Super Cup opener against Torreense on August 1. This makes Hwang the second player to join Porto's first team directly for the 2026–2027 season, following Andre Silva."
It further added that "Hwang becomes the second South Korean player to feature for Porto, after Seok Hyun-jun."
This transfer faced near-collapse due to disagreements over the transfer fee between clubs. Earlier, on the 15th, Record reported that while Porto offered €5 million as a reasonable fee, Feyenoord demanded double that amount—€10 million (approximately ₩17 billion)—citing Hwang's potential role in the 2026 CONCACAF Nations League and World Cup campaign.
However, Hwang himself rejected an offer from Mexican club Monterrey and strongly expressed his desire to join Porto, shifting negotiation leverage to Porto. Additionally, Feyenoord's newly appointed manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst excluded Hwang from the new season's plans, which further favored Porto. Ultimately, Feyenoord abandoned its high demands and agreed to the €5 million fee, finalizing the transfer.
After completing World Cup duties and undergoing personal training in South Korea, Hwang is set to depart immediately to finalize his club registration procedures.
One of Portugal's "Big Three," Porto is an absolute powerhouse that has won the domestic Primeira Liga a remarkable 31 times. The club has also left significant marks in European competitions. It lifted the UEFA Champions League (UCL) trophy during the 1986–1987 and 2003–2004 seasons, and secured the UEFA Europa League (UEL) title twice (2002–2003 and 2010–2011 seasons).
Last month, Hwang delivered a standout performance in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group A opener against Czech Republic, scoring one goal and providing one assist to lead his team to a 2-2 comeback victory. He was named the match's Most Valuable Player (MVP), showcasing peak form. Porto, closely monitoring such performances, appears to have launched its formal recruitment efforts immediately after Hwang's World Cup schedule concluded.
Debuting professionally in 2014 with Daejeon Citizen (now Daejeon Hana Citizen), he earned an early discharge from mandatory military service as a reserve soldier after winning gold at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, paving the way for his overseas career. Since joining Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States in 2019, he has consistently advanced through clubs including Rubin Kazan (Russia), Olympiacos (Greece), and Crvena Zvezda (Serbia).
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*This content was translated by AI.
