"Played the European debut I had dreamed of" Kim Ye-geon, a future of Korean football, shares feelings on his emotional debut match

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Ye-geon, born in 2008 and hailed as a future star of Korean football, has shared his emotional reflections after completing his "long-awaited" European debut.

On the 31st (Korean time), Kim made his European debut by coming on as a substitute in an away match against FK Zemun in Round 7 of the 2026–2027 Serbian SuperLiga at Dragan Jajić Stadium in Ub, Serbia. This comes less than a week after his move to Crvena Zvezda was officially announced on the 25th.

Substituted into the match in the 34th minute of the second half, Kim quickly drove down the wing and delivered a cutback that set up Matej Gastarov for a shot, but the attempt was saved by the goalkeeper, narrowly missing his first attacking contribution.

Instead, he had to be satisfied with contributing to his team's victory when a cross he lofted during a counterattack in stoppage time deflected off a defender and found a teammate whose long-range strike sealed the win.

In his European debut, which lasted 11 minutes by regulation time, Kim recorded 10 touches of the ball and one key pass that led to a shot.

After the match, Kim told club reporters: "I played the first European game I had dreamed of. I feel so good." He added, "It was an honor to play in this jersey. Many fans came and cheered enthusiastically. I felt it was right to perform well for them."

He continued, "Following Hwang In-beom (FC Porto) and Seol Young-woo (Augsburg), I am the third Korean player," and added his ambition: "I want to become a player who can help the team and win many titles."

Kim has been recognized as a football prodigy since childhood. He was once set to join the youth academy of Dutch powerhouse Feyenoord during elementary school, but the move was canceled due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving him with regrets. He later joined Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' youth system and signed a semi-professional contract in March this year before making his professional debut in K League 1 last month.

Recognized for his talent on the professional stage after scoring a debut goal within just two K League matches, he even secured a full professional contract with Jeonbuk while still a high school student. He subsequently received interest from several European clubs and chose to join Crvena Zvezda, where he could adapt to the European scene through consistent playing time.

According to transfer market site Transfermarkt, Kim's transfer fee was 500,000 euros (approximately 8 billion won). However, the negotiation also included a sell-on clause, which grants Jeonbuk a portion of any future transfer fee if Kim moves to another club. Transfermarkt explained that this share amounts to 25%.

Earlier, Jeonbuk stated: "Even as we continue an important ranking competition during the season, we respected the player's own desire to move to Europe." They added, "We decided to actively support his European move under the judgment that gaining opportunities to grow in a higher-level competitive environment is meaningful not only for the individual player's development but also for enhancing Korea's long-term football competitiveness."

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*This content was translated by AI.