Lee Kang-in’s patriotism “Visiting Korea wearing the PSG uniform was so special”: Nate Sports

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(Xports News Reporter Kim Jeong-hyeon) Lee Kang-in (21, PSG) said that the Korean pre-season tour and the Korean national soccer team are special.

PSG released an exclusive interview with Lee Kang-in on the 26th (Korean time). Lee Kang-in looked back on his childhood and his career at PSG through Valencia and Mallorca.

Meanwhile, Lee Kang-in talked about his time with the Korean national team and the pre-season tour last summer when he visited Korea with PSG.

Lee Kang-in visited Busan as part of PSG’s Asia tour last August and played a friendly match with Jeonbuk Hyundai in the ‘Coupang Play Series’.

Looking back at that time, Lee Kang-in said, “It was the first time I visited my home country with my team. It was a really special moment for me. Now Korean fans are really into soccer.”

Lee Kang-in entered the French stage wearing a PSG uniform thanks to his tremendous performance in Mallorca in the 2022-2023 season. PSG showed such strong expectations that general manager Luis Campos personally went out of his way to recruit Lee Kang-in, and at the same time as Lee Kang-in’s recruitment, he even created a Korean SNS account and began creating close competition with Korean fans.

Afterwards, Lee Kang-in’s appearance appeared regularly in PSG’s training and official schedule photos, showing PSG’s expectations for Lee Kang-in.

RMC Sports evaluated Lee Kang-in’s value, saying, “PSG will head to Korea after finishing the pre-season in Japan. It is an important step for PSG to establish itself as a brand in the Asian market. In that respect, recruiting Lee Kang-in is a real asset.”

He added, “The emergence of Lee Kang-in is a strong argument. PSG, looking to conquer the Asian market, can obviously rely on a player like Neymar, who is very popular. However, some reports suggest that the signing of Lee Kang-in is an important step to lure the Korean and Asian markets. “Lee Kang-in, who is also the captain, will enable PSG to develop in Korea and everywhere in Asia,” he said, explaining that Lee Kang-in’s recruitment could be the biggest factor in PSG’s entry into the Asian market.

In fact, despite being unable to play in the game, Lee Kang-in is considered the most popular star of PSG’s Asian tour, and is greatly meeting PSG’s expectations as they aim to pioneer the Asian market.

French media ‘PSG Talk’ reported on the 29th, “Lee Kang-in is a popular player on PSG’s Japan tour.” PSG Talk said, “PSG midfielder Lee Kang-in has become a star since joining PSG. He is also gaining popularity on the Asian tour starting in Japan and heading to Korea this summer. Amid a burgeoning bromance with Neymar, Lee Kang-in is now Neymar. “We can now say that we are selling more uniforms,” he said, expressing keen interest in Lee Kang-in.

In fact, Lee Kang-in even surpassed the uniform sales of Kylian Mbappe, the team’s best player.

Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo reported on the 3rd in an article by its Paris correspondent that Lee Kang-in has surpassed Kylian Mbappe to become the player who has sold the most jerseys at PSG.

The media said, “Lee Kang-in, who played for Mallorca, has become one of PSG’s great stars. Lee Kang-in, who moved to Paris last summer for a transfer fee of 22 million euros (approximately 31.9 billion won), has not only become an important player for Luis Enrique, but also a true attractive point of the club. “It’s done,” it reported.

At the same time, he said, “Lee Kang-in’s influence was great, saying, “Without Lionel Messi or Neymar, who maintained distinct marketing characteristics despite being former players, Lee Kang-in partially made up for the sales loss caused by the departure of the two players.”

The media reported, “Lee Kang-in is the player who has sold the most uniforms in offline stores after Mbappe.” On the day the article was written, a reporter who visited the PSG store at Parc des France Stadium asked the employee about the sales status, and the employee said, “1st place is Mbappe, 2nd place is Lee Kang-in, and 3rd place is Warren Jair-Emeri.”

The media then reported that Lee Kang-in surpassed Mbappe in terms of online sales and ranked first. The media said, “Lee Kang-in, who stepped up his skills at Mallorca, has surpassed Mbappe in uniform sales on online platforms since the start of this season. Lee Kang-in is a rising star in Korea and makes most of his sales revenue in the Asian continent.” revealed.

PSG kicked out Lee Kang-in and even built a flagship store in the middle of Seoul. The purpose is to target Korean soccer fans who are obsessed with Lee Kang-in.

In addition to this story, Lee Kang-in also talked about playing with the Korean national soccer team.

Lee Kang-in said, “Representing my country and national team was really special. And I think that’s the ultimate goal of a player.”

Lee Kang-in made his A-match debut in 2019 and wore the Taegeuk symbol for the first time.

Afterwards, Lee Kang-in was not selected by coach Bento after the Korea-Japan match in March 2021. Whenever coach Bento was asked by the media why he did not select Lee Kang-in, he responded with “tactical reasons” or “he was pushed out of the competition.” Expressions such as etc. were used.

In the meantime, Lee Kang-in attempted to receive military service benefits by participating in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as a representative of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics led by coach Kim Hak-beom, but failed as he was eliminated and lost 2-6 to Mexico in the quarterfinals. Since then, Lee Kang-in has never received a call from coach Bento.

Coach Bento summoned Lee Kang-in to the international match in September 2022, two months before the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and this is his return to the national team after a year and a half.

Lee Kang-in, who improved his defensive mindset at Mallorca, dramatically joined the final roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and played in his first World Cup.

Lee Kang-in appeared as a substitute in the second half of the group stage match against Ghana held at the Education City Stadium in Al-Ayan, Qatar on November 28, and immediately scored his first offensive point in the World Cup by assisting Cho Kyu-sung’s first goal.

Lee Kang-in has become an indispensable offensive resource for the Korean national soccer team after the World Cup. In the A matches played after the World Cup, Lee Kang-in has recorded 6 goals and 5 assists in 17 games.

In particular, Lee Kang-in is recording 1 goal and 3 assists in 4 games of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup 2nd qualifying round. He recorded 1 goal and 1 assist against Singapore and 1 assist away to China.

However, Lee Kang-in caused a conflict with Son Heung-min at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup, and domestic public opinion was not good.

Lee Kang-in also apologized for a series of incidents during training the day before the third home game against Thailand held immediately after the Asian Cup.

In the fourth away game on March 26, Lee Kang-in assisted Son Heung-min’s second goal and helped the team win 3-0. With that, the national team saga related to the two people came to an end.

Photo = Xports News DB, Yonhap News, PSG

Reporter Kim Jeong-hyeon [email protected]

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