Обсуждение участника:"Exemption if you win a gold medal like SON and Kim Min-jae"
Overseas media also showed interest in whether Lee Kang-in , a 'Golden Boy' wearing a Paris Saint-Germain uniform, will participate in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. This is because Lee Kang-in's soccer career could be completely different depending on whether or not he won the Asian Games gold medal. Spanish media Eldesmarque said on the 14th , "Coach Seon-Hong Hwang announced the Asian Games national team list" and "Coach Seon-Hong Hwang said Kang-in Lee's participation in the tournament was not confirmed, but was positive. Valencia and Mallorca (above Spain) Lee Kang-in, who played, signed a five-year contract with PSG led by coach Luis Enrique. He now has to decide whether to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games."
Head coach Hwang Seon-hong announced the final list of 22 players for the men's soccer team to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games. While Baek Seung-ho, Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), and Seol Young-woo (Ulsan Hyundai) were selected as wild cards over the age of 24, Lee Kang-in was also listed. However, Lee Kang-in's participation has not been confirmed. Since the Asian Games are not hosted by the International Football Federation (FIFA), there is no obligation to select a team. Lee Kang-in also needs PSG permission to participate in the Asian Games.
Lee Kang-in's participation in the Asian Games is an important issue. Depending on whether Korea wins the gold medal, not only Lee Kang-in's soccer life but also the future of Korean soccer may change. Korea is aiming for three consecutive championships following the 2014 Incheon Games and the 2018 Jakarta/Palembang Games. At the 2018 Jakarta/Palembang Games, "National Team Captain" Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae (Naples) received military service benefits. In the case of Kim Min-jae, after resolving the military issue, his career skyrocketed. He wore the Italian Serie A Napoli jersey last year after transferring to the prestigious Turkish club Fenerbahce. Immediately after his transfer, he led Napoli to the league title with a stormy performance. In the transfer market this summer, the transfer of 'Germany's strongest' Bayern Munich was in front of me. If Lee Kang-in receives military service benefits, the burden will be greatly relieved.
"Military service is a decisive career break for soccer players," Eldesmarke explained. "Korean national soccer team captain Son Heung-min and current Europe's most popular centre-back Kim Min-jae won the gold medal at the 2018 competition and received military service benefits."
Until the Hangzhou Asian Games, head coach Hwang Seon-hong and the Korea Football Association plan to negotiate with PSG for Lee Kang-in to participate. PSG's definite answer has not come out, but the dominant view is that Lee Kang-in will participate. From PSG's point of view, since he signed a long-term contract with Lee Kang-in for 5 years, there are many advantages in the future if the military service issue is resolved. Also, PSG is the strongest team in France that has no opponent. Even if Lee Kang-in leaves for a short time, there is no big problem because the player base is so thick. Lee Kang-in's vacancy can be filled by Spanish national team Carlos Soler and Marco Asensio. Head coach Hwang Seon-hong said, "I have been in constant contact with Lee Kang-in. I have a strong will to participate in the tournament. I have finished talking about recruiting from my former team, Mallorca, but the transfer to PSG has progressed rapidly. We are still coordinating with PSG. It will be well coordinated." said.
Meanwhile, Lee Kang-in moved to French big club PSG this summer. He is the first Korean player to wear a PSG uniform. Last season, he served as the ace of his former team Mallorca and participated in 36 league games, scoring 6 goals and 6 assists. He has the team's second most goals and most assists. Thanks to this, Mallorca achieved a good record of 9th in the league despite mediocre power. Mallorca managed to remain in the first division by ranking 16th in the league just before the 2021-2022 season. Thanks to Lee Kang-in's performance, his grades soared. In addition, the recruitment war to occupy Lee Kang-in was fierce. From last winter's transfer window, Spain's Atletico Madrid and a number of English Premier League clubs were targeting him. However, the atmosphere changed after PSG participated in the recruitment match. In the end, it became the final winner. PSG spent a considerable transfer fee of 22 million euros (approximately 31 billion won) to recruit Lee Kang-in. In addition, he signed a long-term contract for 5 years and gave great trust to Lee Kang-in.