The bizarre case of Kang-In Lee
The Mallorca man is a remarkable talent
It’s not been an easy ride for Kang-In Lee. At 22 years of age, he is a star of LaLiga and an icon in South Korea, but that’s all in spite of finding himself at Mallorca, far from the shining lights of Spain’s biggest clubs.
His journey began at the age of 10 when he travelled to Spanish shores for the first time, heading to Valencia in 2011 for a trial. Without being able to speak either Spanish or English, he ended up trialling in the wrong age group, lining up alongside older team-mates including Hugo Guillamón and Ferran Torres.
Despite the year of difference compared to the other candidates, he immediately stood out. Valencia offered him the chance to join, and he relocated with his family to the village of Puzol, just north of the city.
He settled in quickly, attracting the attention of Real Madrid before he even reached his 13th birthday, but he stayed loyal to Valencia, who had given him a shot in European football.
Kang-In’s real breakthrough came in 2018. In May, South Korea took part in the Toulon Tournament with their under 19s, and finished bottom of their group. Despite that, his form, with two goals in three games, saw him named the fourth-best player of the tournament.
Weeks later, Valencia’s sporting director Mateu Alemany extended his contract to 2022 and added an extra 0 on the end of his release clause from €8 million to €80 million. As he began his journey with the first team, joining them for pre-season, he looked like a prodigy in the making.
Fast forward three years, and Kang-In’s journey had gone off the rails. It was a question of the wrong place at the worst possible time as Meriton Holding’s strategy of giving game time prematurely to youngsters saw the teenager shouldering a huge amount of responsibility.
Then club president Anil Murthy caused a stir by intervening to insist that the South Korean was given the number 10 shirt ahead of another homegrown talent, Carlos Soler, upsetting the dressing room. But when talks on a new contract didn’t go as smoothly as expected, Kang-In was cast out.
"When I arrived, I was told that Kang-in was sold, that he had to leave,” José Bordalás told Relevo. “It was incomprehensible, they told me that he was a bad teammate, that he had to leave no matter what. I was surprised, he was in Korea, when he came he only trained for two days and I told my coaches that he was the best, that it was incomprehensible that he was sold.”
The now Getafe coach tried desperately to persuade the club to keep hold of the attacking midfielder, but there was nothing he could do. “I had no say in his departure, but he was sold for nothing,” he recalled. “I was surprised because he was a young player and the two days he trained I remember telling my coaching staff that he was the best."
Forced out of Mestalla, many were surprised to see him end up at Mallorca. Other parties were interested, but few could offer the guarantee of regular first team football and the chance to use the club as a stepping stone quite as Mallorca could, giving him a reasonable €18 million release clause.
“He is a very important player for me, whether he plays or not,” coach Javier Aguirre said of the South Korean. “Here we are very fond of him, personally he is a boy I appreciate very much, who has grown a lot since our arrival. He has taken a leading role that I said at the beginning of the season that I wanted him to have and he has responded with play, goals, and assists. He is an important part of the team.”
It’s expected that he will move on this summer, with Atlético Madrid, Newcastle and Aston Villa among those to be linked with him in recent months. It’s easy to see why. With six goals, second only to Vedat Muriqi among the squad, and five assists, the highest of any Mallorca player, he has excelled.
You can expect to hear much more about this 22-year-old sensation who already feels like he’s been around for years. Mallorca have witnessed his potential, and this summer he’ll have the chance to put his talents to the test.