Lee Kang-In Joins Atletico Madrid on Long-Term Deal
Atletico Madrid have moved decisively to reshape their attack, landing South Korea international Lee Kang-In from Paris Saint-Germain on a long-term deal that runs through June 2031.
The fee remains under wraps, but figures in Spain and France put it between 35 and 40 million euros — the kind of outlay that signals more than a squad option. This is a player signed to carry weight, not just fill a gap.
For Lee, 25, it is less a leap into the unknown than a return to familiar streets. Born in Incheon, he left South Korea at the age of 10 to join Valencia’s academy, growing up in Spanish football’s demanding, technical environment. He went on to make 62 senior appearances for the club, learning the rhythms of La Liga before a spell at Mallorca and then the call from Paris.
His time at PSG turned him into a more rounded, hardened footballer. Across 124 appearances, he scored 16 goals and operated in multiple roles, asked to adapt in a star-studded, often unforgiving dressing room. That experience, and his ability to handle expectation, will matter in a stadium as intense as the Metropolitano.
On the international stage, Lee featured in all three of South Korea’s group matches at the World Cup, a campaign that ended with two defeats and an early exit. Even in disappointment, he carried responsibility as one of the side’s creative hubs, a role he is now expected to inherit in Madrid.
Because this move is also about a void.
Atletico finished fourth in La Liga last season and reached the Copa del Rey final, but the summer has taken away their defining attacker of the last decade. Antoine Griezmann, the club’s all-time leading scorer, has departed for MLS, leaving behind a hole in invention, goals and personality.
Diego Simeone and the Atletico hierarchy have turned to a player who knows the league, speaks the language, and has lived the pressure of elite clubs. Lee brings close control between the lines, a sharp left foot, and the vision to unlock low blocks that so often suffocate Atletico’s home games.
This is a different kind of signing for Simeone. Less battering ram, more scalpel. The question now is simple and brutal, as it always is at this club: can Lee Kang-In carry the creative burden that comes with replacing a legend and drive Atletico into a new attacking era?
