New PSG midfielder Lee Kang-in leaves home with fond memories

His stay in his home country might only have been for a couple of days, but Paris Saint-Germain’s new South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in said Thursday he is taking plenty of fond memories with him.

Lee came off the bench in the 69th minute in PSG’s preseason friendly against the K League 1 side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at Busan Asiad Main Stadium in the southeastern city of Busan. Lee didn’t factor into scoring in PSG’s 3-0 win, but he was still the favorite of 43,520 fans on hand.

“I had such a great time playing here, and my teammates also enjoyed their stay in Korea,” Lee said in a televised interview afterward. “Hopefully, we will have more of these in the future.”

Lee had missed PSG’s three preseason matches in Japan before arriving in South Korea on Wednesday, as he was nursing a thigh injury suffered in a late July exhibition in France. Lee said he’s slowly working his back into form.

“I am pain free, but there are still concerns about reinjury,” Lee said. “I am trying to take care of it the best I can.”

Lee had spent his entire club career in Spain before joining PSG in July, with global stars like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe as his teammates.

“We have so many great players here, and we hit it off from my first day,” Lee said. “I think I should be able to play even better down the road.”

The skilled midfielder is one of the most popular football players in South Korea. The 22-year-old said he wants to make his country proud.

“I will do my best in every moment, the way I’ve been doing all along,” he said. “I want to show people that South Korean football has improved and the country has a lot of great players.”

After the interview, Lee circled the stadium to acknowledge fans, before joining the rest of his team for a flight back to France.

This was PSG’s final preseason match. Their Ligue 1 season will kick off on Aug. 12.

PSG have won a league-record 11 titles, nine of which have come since the 2012-23 season.