Lee Kang-in (; born 19 February 2001) is a South Korean professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or winger for club

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

and the

South Korea national team South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

. A product of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

's youth academy, Lee made his professional debut for Valencia at the age of 17 in the year 2018, becoming the youngest South Korean footballer to debut professionally in Europe. In his debut season, he won the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

, before making his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut in his second professional season. Lee joined

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

in 2021, where he established himself as one of Europe's top dribblers, before leaving Spain for French club Paris Saint-Germain in 2023. In 2019, Lee won the

Asian Young Footballer of the Year The Asian Young Footballer of the Year award, officially known as the AFC Youth Player of the Year award, is presented to the best young football player in Asia. It has been awarded by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since 1995. It is usually ...

, the same year that he won the

2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

's Golden Ball award. Lee's team finished runner-up during the event. He later made his senior debut for South Korea in September 2019, representing his nation's squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

and

2023 AFC Asian Cup The 2023 AFC Asian Cup was the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It involved 24 national teams after its expansion in 20 ...

Club career

Valencia

Lee joined

's academy in July 2011. On 15 December 2017, he was called up to Valencia B (Mestalla). He had his debut on 21 December 2017, in a match with

Deportivo Aragón Real Zaragoza Deportivo Aragón is the reserve team of Real Zaragoza, a Spanish football club based in Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded in 1958, currently plays in , holding home matches at '' Ciudad Deportiva del Real Za ...

, being substituted in the 82nd minute.

2018–19 season

Lee made his first team debut on 30 October 2018, starting and playing 83 minutes in a 2–1 win over

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

in the

, becoming the youngest South Korean footballer to debut professionally in Europe. Lee made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut on 12 January 2019, substituting in for

Denis Cheryshev Denis Dmitriyevich Cheryshev ( rus, Денис Дмитриевич Черышев, p=dʲɪˈnʲis ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈtɕerɨʂɨf, links=no; born 26 December 1990) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Supe ...

in the 86th minute in a 1–1 draw with

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

during 2018–19 season. At 17 years, 10 months, and 24 days, Lee became the second youngest player in the 18–19 La Liga after Ander Barrenetxea from

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

who debuted at the age of 16 years, 11 months, and 24 days. He also became the youngest ever non-Spanish and the first Asian league debutant for Valencia, as well as the fifth Korean to play in La Liga. On 30 January 2019, Lee officially joined the Valencia first-team, receiving jersey number 16.

2019–20 season

On 17 September 2019, Lee made his

debut as a late substitute for

Rodrigo Rodrigo () is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' ( Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the la ...

in a 1–0 win against Chelsea, becoming the youngest ever Korean to debut in the competition at the age of 18 years and 6 months, a record previously held by

Jeong Woo-yeong Jeong Woo-yeong (; born 20 September 1999) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club Union Berlin, and the South Korea national team. Club career Bayern Munich On 30 June 201 ...

. He also became the 5th youngest ever to debut for ''Los Ches'' in the same competition. On 25 September 2019, he scored his first La Liga goal in a 3–3 draw against

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

, to become the youngest non-Spanish to score for Valencia, aged 18 years and 219 days old, breaking the previous record of

Mohamed Sissoko Mohamed Lamine Sissoko (born 22 January 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in France, he represented France at youth international level before playing for the Mali national team. Club career Au ...

who scored in the

2003–04 UEFA Cup The 2003–04 UEFA Cup was won by Valencia in the final against Marseille. It wrapped up a league and UEFA Cup double for Valencia. Porto could not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League and a ...

; and the third youngest ever, only behind Juan Mena and Fernando Gómez. His record as the youngest non-Spanish goalscorer for Valencia was broken the following season by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

teammate

Yunus Musah Yunus Dimoara Musah (born November 29, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for club AC Milan and the United States national team. An alumnus of Arsenal's Hale End academy, Musah began his senior career ...

2020–21 season

On 13 September 2020, Lee became the youngest player, aged 19 years and 207 days, to assist two goals in a La Liga match in the 21st century, in a 4–2 win over Levante, breaking the previous record of

Juan Mata Juan Manuel Mata García (born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Western Sydney Wanderers. He primarily plays as an attacking ...

in 2008, aged 20 years and 150 days. Despite rejecting several renewal offers from the club throughout the year, he featured regularly under

Javi Gracia Javier "Javi" Gracia Carlos (; born 1 May 1970) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He totalled 430 matches across both major levels of Spanish football, in a 15-year professional career. Afte ...

as the ''Che'' ended the campaign on a mid-table position. After being on the transfer list during the entire pre-season, Lee terminated his contract with Valencia on 29 August 2021.

Mallorca

On 30 August 2021, fellow La Liga club

confirmed the free transfer of Lee, signing on a four-year contract. During the 2022–23 season, Lee became one of the best dribblers in the Big Five European leagues by making the highest success rate of dribbles and the sixth highest number of successful dribbles.

Paris Saint-Germain

On 8 July 2023,

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

announced the signing of Lee on a 5-year contract running through 2028, becoming the first ever South Korean to play for the club. A transfer fee of €22 million was paid out to Mallorca after Lee passed his medical at the start of June. Lee made his Ligue 1 debut in a 0–0 draw against

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

at the

Parc des Princes The Parc des Princes (, ) is an all-seater stadium, all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin (P ...

on 12 August. On 25 October, Lee scored his first PSG goal, his first ever in the Champions League, in a 3–0 victory over

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

. On 3 November, he scored his first goal in Ligue 1 in a 3–0 win over

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. On 3 January 2024, he was named man of the match, after he scored the opening goal in the

2023 Trophée des Champions The 2023 Trophée des Champions was the 28th edition of the Trophée des Champions, French super cup. The match was contested by the 2022–23 Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain, and the 2022–23 Coupe de France winn ...

final against

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

in a 2–0 victory, winning his first title with the club. As PSG won the

Double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

of the Ligue 1 and the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

in the 2023–24 season, he became the first Asian player to win the Ligue 1. In the 2024–25 season, Lee became the second Asian ever to receive a UEFA Champions League medal, following compatriot

Park Ji-sung Park Ji-sung (; born 30 March 1981) is a South Korean former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in the South Korean capital Seoul, Park is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful Asian pe ...

, but his playing time during the second half of the season decreased sharply due to

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ( ka, ხვიჩა კვარაცხელია ; born 12 February 2001) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Georgia national team. Regarded as o ...

's joining and

Désiré Doué Désiré Nonka-Maho Doué (; born 3 June 2005) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), winger for club Paris Saint-Germain FC, Paris Saint-Germain and the Fr ...

's growth. He considered his transfer in the summer despite winning a

continental treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A continental treble involves winning the club's top-level domestic league competition, main domestic cup competition, and main continental tro ...

. On 15 June 2025, he came on as a 72nd-minute substitute and scored his first

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

goal on a penalty kick in a 4–0 win over

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

International career

2019 U-20 World Cup

Lee was selected to play for the South Korea U-20 football team in the

and played in every group and knockout match, leading his team to a historic runner-up finish in the tournament and scoring two goals and four assists in seven games. As a result, he received the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player.

2022 World Cup

Lee received his first call up to the senior

South Korea national football team The South Korea national football team (; recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA) represents South Korea in men's international Association football, football and is governed by the Korea Football Association, a member of FIFA and the Asian Foot ...

in March 2019 for friendlies against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, and became the 7th youngest to be in the South Korean national team. On 5 September 2019, Lee made his international debut in a 2–2 draw friendly match against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

as a starter. Lee was called up for friendlies in September 2022 just before the

by showing his evolution on both side of the ball in La Liga. He only participated in team training without appearances in the friendlies, but was selected for the 26-men World Cup team. He assisted Cho Gue-sung's header with an accurate cross in the second group match against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

2023 Asian Cup

Lee was exempted from

mandatory military service Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

after winning the

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially the 19th Asian Games () and also known as Hangzhou 2022 ( zh, c=, s=杭州2022, labels=no), were a continental multi-sport event which was held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The ...

in October 2023. In a senior friendly against

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

just after the Asian Games, he led South Korea to a 4–0 victory by scoring two goals including a free-kick goal, which were his first and second goals for senior national team respectively. Lee was called up the South Korean squad for the

. He led South Korea to the knockout stage by scoring two goals in a 3–1 victory over

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

and having a free-kick goal and an assist from a corner in a 3–3 draw with

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. He created the highest number of key passes and successful crosses until the quarter-finals. After South Korea was eliminated in the semi-finals by

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, however, it was reported that he had been in conflict with veteran players in the national team including captain

Son Heung-min Son Heung-min (; born 8 July 1992) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both club Tottenham Hotspur and the South Korea national team. Known for his speed, finishing, two-footedness, and ability ...

before the defeat.

Media

In 2007, the six-year-old Lee was featured in the third season of the KBS N Sports reality football show

Fly Shoot Dori Fly Shoot Dori () is a South Korean reality show program on KBS. The 1st League of the show used to be one of the Happy Sunday segment and was aired on KBS2. From 2nd to the 6th League, they were aired on . In December 2019, it was announced t ...

. After his exceptional performance, he passed through

Yoo Sang-chul Yoo Sang-chul (; 18 October 1971 – 7 June 2021) was a South Korean football player and manager. Yoo was regarded as one of the greatest South Korean midfielders of all time. He was selected as a midfielder of the 2002 FIFA World Cup All-Star ...

's youth academy and in 2009 joined the

Incheon United Incheon United FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Incheon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in 2003, the club is a so-called "community club", with the government of the ...

U-12 youth team. He later attended Seokjeong Elementary School in

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

and played for Flyings FC. In January 2011, he went to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

under the recommendation of his youth team coach and took part in trials for the youth teams of Spanish clubs

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

and

Personal life

Lee was born on 19 February 2001 in

, the youngest of three children. His father Lee Woon-seong was a taekwondo instructor in Incheon and a big football fan (especially of the late

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lee goal.''

Honours

Valencia *

: 2018–19 Paris Saint-Germain *

: 2023–24, 2024–25 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

: 2024–25 South Korea U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

runner-up:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

South Korea U23 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Individual *

Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...

Best XI:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

* FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Ball:

* AFC Youth Player of the Year: 2019 * Korean FA Young Player of the Year: 2019 *

Goal of the Month: November 2023 *

Best Player:

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Asian Men's Team of the Year: 2023, 2024 * AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament:

Notes

References

External links

Profile
at the Paris Saint-Germain F.C. website *
Lee Kang-in – National Team Stats
at KFA * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Kang-in 2001 births Living people Footballers from Incheon South Korean men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Men's association football defenders Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Valencia CF players RCD Mallorca players Paris Saint-Germain FC players Segunda División B players La Liga players Ligue 1 players Olympic footballers for South Korea Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics South Korea men's youth international footballers South Korea men's under-20 international footballers South Korea men's under-23 international footballers South Korea men's international footballers 2022 FIFA World Cup players South Korean expatriate men's footballers South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Spain South Korean expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in France Footballers at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in football Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games 2023 AFC Asian Cup players 21st-century South Korean sportsmen UEFA Champions League–winning players