Atletico Madrid have signed South Korea international Kang-in Lee from Paris Saint-Germain in a €40m move that ranks as the second most expensive transfer for an Asian player in football history.
The Spanish club announced the deal on Saturday, confirming the 24-year-old’s arrival as their third major addition of the summer after Morten Hjulmand and Alejandro Grimaldo.
According to reports in South Korea, Atletico will pay PSG an initial €35m, with a further €5m in easily achievable add-ons. The structure of the deal takes the total fee to €40m, underlining the growing market value of Korean players in Europe’s top leagues.
The only Korean transfer to surpass Kang-in Lee’s move is Kim Min-jae’s €50m switch from Napoli to Bayern Munich in 2023. The Atletico signing also exceeds the €30m Tottenham paid Bayer Leverkusen for Son Heung-min in 2015.
Media reaction in Seoul
South Korean media gave extensive coverage to the transfer, hailing Kang-in Lee as the first Korean footballer to join what is widely described there as La Liga’s “big three”.
That label refers to Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid – a group the capital club are viewed to have cemented their place in over the past decade through regular title challenges and deep runs in European competition.
Kang-in Lee’s arrival is therefore being framed in Seoul as both a personal milestone for the player and a symbolic step for Korean football, with a national-team regular now set to feature for one of Spain’s established elite.
Familiar territory in Spain
Sources in the South Korean capital believe Kang-in Lee is well placed to adapt quickly to Diego Simeone’s demanding style at Atletico, given his long association with Spanish football.
The midfielder moved to Spain at the age of 10 to join Valencia’s academy and progressed through the ranks to make his first-team debut there. He later established himself further in La Liga with Mallorca before earning a move to Paris Saint-Germain, where his performances attracted interest from across Europe.
Those who have followed his career closely argue that this background – particularly his tactical schooling in Spain – should ease his integration into Simeone’s system, which is renowned for its defensive organisation and high work-rate.
Boost to Atletico’s ambitions
Within Atletico, the signing is viewed as a significant reinforcement of their squad as they target domestic and European trophies in the coming seasons.
Kang-in Lee brings with him extensive European experience for a player of 24, having already featured in La Liga and Ligue 1 as well as continental competitions. Club insiders see his creativity and versatility in attacking midfield positions as attributes that can add a different dimension to an Atletico side seeking to keep pace with Real Madrid and Barcelona.
For Korean football, the transfer is another marker of the national team’s rising status in the European game, following the breakthroughs of Son Heung-min in the Premier League and Kim Min-jae in the Bundesliga.
With Kang-in Lee now joining a leading club in Spain, the record-breaking nature of recent fees paid for Korean players is being interpreted in Seoul as evidence that the country’s top talents are increasingly seen as central figures rather than peripheral signings in Europe’s major leagues.
