Lee Kang-in (24, Paris Saint-Germain), who was considered the best rising star in Korean soccer, suddenly became depressed.
He was treated as 'useless' by his team PSG, receiving a cold evaluation that he did not grow as much as expected and that he did not have superior skills compared to other competitors. PSG has no more regret for Lee Kang-in. If a reasonable offer comes, I'm going to sell it at the expense of some loss. I don't think it's worth that much. The market's response is similar to that of PSG. Now no one is enthusiastic about Lee Kang-in.
British media Sports Bible said on the 16th (Korea time) 'PSG considers Lee Kang-in, Luca Hernandez, Lucas Beraldu and Gonzalo Hamus as players who are no longer needed by the team. If an appropriate offer is made against them, we will sell it immediately,' he said, citing leading French media outlet Le Parisien.
PSG's policy could be very fatal to Lee Kang-in's career. This is because the team that won the UEFA Champions League last season and ranked as the 'strongest in Europe' judged that 'unnecessary player'. In the end, this is the same as the stigma that Lee Kang-in is not a 'A-class player'. Along with Lee Kang-in, the same goes for other players who have been mentioned as 'subjects for sale'.
If the name appears like this, the possibility of transfer to a prestigious European club is greatly reduced. In the end, the offer to recruit Lee Kang-in may not be a very good condition compared to the previous one.
Lee Kang-in has become such a miserable state in just one season. It may be considered too harsh, but from a different perspective, it can be said that the PSG club and manager Luis Enrique have completely completed the evaluation of Lee Kang-in through last season. I gave opportunities and tested them in various positions, and I concluded that they were "young useless players".
Lee Kang-in seemed to be trusted by Enrique until the early and mid-2025 season. He was used in various forms in various positions, including central midfielders, fake No. 9, and side strikers. At this time, coach Enrique seemed to use Lee Kang-in as his avatar.
However, it is also possible to interpret this method from a different perspective. Coach Enrique took on several roles to find Lee Kang-in's clear role, but he failed to show a performance that met his standards in the end. It's not that I'm bad at it, but it's reasonable to think that it wasn't enough to secure a certain position within PSG.
In the end, Enrique stopped the experiment on Lee Kang-in. It was crucial to sign Khvicha Kvaracellia in the transfer market in January. Hbicha was a 'e-gang upgrade version' in many aspects, including the style of play. As a result, Enrique became increasingly less interested in Lee Kang-in. At the end of the season, Lee Kang-in was explicitly excluded from the team's core power. You can see the way Lee Kang-in was used during the UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup. Coach Enrique did not use Lee Kang-in for such an important tournament. Because I judged that I was not good at it.
Nevertheless, he showed regret for Lee Kang-in until the end, and sometimes gave him a chance to play because of the sheer value of marketing. It provided a very small opportunity for 'Uniform Sales' aimed at the Korean market.
Now PSG has completely branded Lee Kang-in 'Useless Player'. There will be few chances to play if they remain. However, PSG didn't show much to leave for another team. The market value has fallen significantly. The reality is that it is difficult to get to the A-level team. The twinkling golden boy's halo has already disappeared. Lee Kang-in seems to have to think about how to revive the lost light.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
