Lee Kang-in Joins Atlético Madrid From PSG, Signs Five-Year Deal

Lee Kang-in’s Return to Spain: Inside the Atlético Madrid Move

Lee Kang-in has completed a move from Paris Saint-Germain to Atlético Madrid, signing a five-year contract that runs through June 2031. It’s a homecoming of sorts for the South Korea international, who returns to Spanish football three years after leaving Mallorca for the French capital, and it hands Diego Simeone’s side the attacking midfielder they’ve been chasing for some time.

The Numbers

Reports on the exact structure of the fee vary slightly by source, but the broad shape is consistent: Atlético will pay PSG an initial fee in the region of €35 million, with a further €5 million available in performance-based add-ons, taking the total package close to €40 million. It’s almost double the roughly €22 million PSG paid Mallorca to sign Lee back in 2023, representing a healthy profit for the French champions on a player who was never quite a guaranteed starter in Paris.How Do Football Transfer Fees Work? A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Why PSG Were Willing to Sell

Lee’s three seasons at PSG were, by any reasonable measure, a success story in terms of medals won — he collected 12 major trophies during his time in the French capital, including three Ligue 1 titles and back-to-back Champions League triumphs in 2024-25 and 2025-26, becoming only the second South Korean player ever to win the competition after Manchester United’s Park Ji-sung. What he didn’t fully secure was undisputed first-team status: across his final season, he made 39 appearances but started only 19 of them, finishing with four goals and five assists from a squad role rather than a consistent starting berth. With Luis Enrique’s rotation policy leaving him short of regular minutes, a move offering a clearer path to sustained playing time made sense for a player entering the peak years of his career.

Why Atlético Made the Move

Atlético’s pursuit of Lee comes directly on the back of losing club legend Antoine Griezmann, who departed for Major League Soccer this summer. Lee isn’t being brought in as a direct replacement in terms of goal output — he doesn’t carry the same finishing threat Griezmann provided — but his profile as a versatile attacking midfielder capable of playing centrally or from either flank gives Simeone a different kind of creative option. Atlético’s official statement specifically highlighted his vision, close control, and ability to both pass and shoot from tight areas as the qualities that stood out during their scouting process.

Lee will wear the No. 7 shirt at Atlético — fittingly, the number Griezmann himself wore before his departure — and the move continues a busy summer of business for Los Colchoneros, following the earlier arrivals of Spain full-back Álex Grimaldo and Danish midfielder Morten Hjulmand.

The Player Returning to Spain

Lee’s history in Spanish football goes back to his teenage years, beginning at Valencia’s academy before he made his name during two standout seasons at Mallorca, where he scored six goals in 36 La Liga appearances in his final campaign before PSG came calling. Across his full five seasons in Spain prior to this summer’s move, he made 135 official appearances and scored 10 goals, a body of work that clearly left an impression on Atlético’s recruitment staff even as he built his reputation further in France.

His summer form only strengthened the case for a move. Lee was a key contributor for South Korea at the 2026 World Cup, including a standout performance and assist in a 2-1 group-stage win over Czechia — a tournament showing that added momentum to a transfer that had reportedly been in the works for weeks beforehand.

The Bottom Line

For Atlético, this is a calculated bet on a player who’s already proven he can win at the highest level, even if he wasn’t always guaranteed a starting shirt to do it. For Lee, it’s a return to the country and the league where he first made his name as a teenager, now arriving as a two-time Champions League winner with a clear opportunity to become a first-choice player again. Diego Simeone’s side begin their La Liga campaign on August 19 against newly promoted Málaga, and Lee looks set to be involved from the very start of that project.

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