AT Madrid's New No. 7 Lee Kang-in: "I Will Show 120%, Not Just 100%"

Lee Kang-in, who has left French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to join Spain's Atletico Madrid (hereafter AT Madrid), has expressed his fierce determination to pour 120 percent of his capabilities into his new team.

Lee made the remarks during a press conference held at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul today (August 8), alongside manager Diego Simeone.

AT Madrid is scheduled to play a pre-season friendly match against English Premier League powerhouse Manchester City at the Seoul World Cup Stadium tomorrow.

This match is expected to be Lee's unofficial debut wearing his new uniform in front of South Korean fans.

"It is a club I have watched a lot since I was young, and I know very well how great of a club it is. I am happy to be able to come to such a team," Lee said, sharing his thoughts on joining the club.

"Above all, what really swayed my heart was that the manager and the club made me feel their genuine desire to have me," he explained, describing the background behind his decision to transfer.

He added, "Since it is a team that competes for the title every season, I chose to come here believing I could develop further and lift many trophies."

Having moved from Spain's Mallorca to PSG in July 2023, Lee is returning to the Spanish La Liga stage—virtually his "football hometown"—after three years through this transfer.

The transfer fee amounts to a massive total of 40 million euros (approximately 67.1 billion KRW), consisting of 35 million euros plus 5 million euros in options.

This is the second-highest transfer fee ever for a South Korean player, following the 50 million euros recorded when Kim Min-jae moved from Napoli (Italy) to Bayern Munich (Germany) in 2023.

The club placed great expectations on the newly joined Lee and assigned him the symbolic jersey number 7.

Number 7 is the number worn by Antoine Griezmann, who led AT Madrid's golden era in the 2010s.

Lee emphasized, "I know there are many legends and great players who wore the number 7, but honestly, rather than being conscious of such things, how I can help the team from the beginning is much more important to me."

"I am a player who is always agonising over every moment and is eager to develop," he vowed. "I have developed in all aspects at PSG and on the South Korean national team as well. At my new club, I will play a different style of football than before, but I will do my best in the direction the manager wants."

He went on to say firmly, "I have always wanted to win in the past and I still do, which is why I came to this team. I will do my absolute best at 120 percent to help the team and achieve victories."

He also did not hide his anticipation for meeting AT Madrid fans.

"I have seen that our fans are the best in the world, so I am very excited and looking forward to it," Lee said. "I want to show that I am a player who helps the team and someone who can bring you fun and joy through that."

(Photo: Captured from Atletico Madrid club SNS, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.