It looks like Paris Saint-Germain have finally met the transfer fee demanded by Mallorca for the signing of Lee Kang-In.
Lee had a breakthrough season for Mallorca in the 2022/23 campaign, which saw him take a leap forward in his career. His kicking, passing, and breakaway ability improved, while his defensive involvement and pace improved, making him one of La Liga’s top playmakers.
Lee’s dominance in La Liga throughout the season has attracted interest from major European clubs, including the Premier League and La Liga’s prestigious Atletico Madrid.
Atletico made a concrete offer to Mallorca, but negotiations broke down due to Mallorca’s unreasonable demands and the deal fell through.
PSG have been leading the chase for Lee ever since Atletico’s deal fell through. When the interest was first reported, PSG president Luis Campos was reportedly actively pursuing the player himself, even offering him guaranteed first-team and European football 가입머니.
Since then, there have been reports that PSG and Mallorca have been unable to agree on a transfer fee and that the move has been delayed. In France, it was even reported that the transfer was stalled due to the increase in the transfer fee demanded by Mallorca and the refusal of PSG.
French outlet Westfrance reported, “Lee’s arrival at PSG could take a long time. He has already passed a medical in Paris, but has not signed a contract with PSG. PSG wants to lower his price tag,” and also reported that the move could be delayed by transfer fee negotiations.
According to the report, PSG were unwilling to pay Mallorca’s full asking price and were looking to reduce the price of the player, which was said to be between €20 million and €25 million ($28.5 billion and $35.6 billion). Mallorca, on the other hand, demanded €22 million (approximately KRW 31.3 billion).
Recently, however, Lee’s move to PSG has regained momentum, with European soccer transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano reporting on social media that “all parties involved in Lee’s transfer to PSG are confident that the deal will be finalized soon,” and reports suggesting that all steps are now complete except for the signing.
In the meantime, it has been reported that Lee’s move to PSG could be imminent as PSG have decided to accept and pay the transfer fee demanded by Mallorca.
Spanish outlet Estadio Deportivo reported on March 3 (KST) that “Lee Kang-in and PSG are in the final stages of a transfer”.
“PSG have shown a firm interest in signing Lee,” said Estadio Deportivo. Mallorca have been tight-lipped about the possibility of pulling off the biggest sale in their history,” the report said.
“Atletico broke off negotiations for economic reasons and refused to give in to Mallorca’s demands. But there was one team that was willing to give in, and that was PSG. PSG would have offered around €22 million,” he said, explaining that PSG paid the €22 million transfer fee that Mallorca had been seeking.
In the end, PSG wanted to lower their asking price than Mallorca did, but it seems they ultimately chose to meet their demands in order to get Lee quickly.
The outlet also speculated that Mallorca had a verbal agreement with Lee that would allow him to move if an offer of €18 million or €20 million came in, saying, “The next few days are crucial. PSG’s pre-season starts on July 10 with training, so it won’t take long for player transfers and registrations to be announced,” he said, adding that PSG will announce the official signing of Lee soon.
It will be interesting to see if Lee, who is now likely to be on a plane to Paris, can live up to the hype and win over PSG fans.