PSG to play exhibition game in Korea on Aug. 3

Football

Published: 10 Jul. 2023, 17:20 Updated: 11 Jul. 2023, 10:18

PSG to play exhibition game in Korea on Aug. 3

Lee Kang-in poses with the Korean flag while wearing a Paris Saint-Germain shirt in a photo released by the club on Saturday. [PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN]

Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, complete with new signing Lee Kang-in, will visit Korea in August to play a pre-season friendly, promoter Coupang Play announced Monday.

“PSG, the reigning Ligue 1 champion, will visit Korea to take part in the Coupang Play series,” the streaming service announced in a statement Monday, adding that Coupang has signed a rights deal with Ligue 1 to broadcast games in Korea next season.

PSG will play in Game 3 of the Coupang Play Series on Aug. 3, according to the announcement. The opposing team has not yet been confirmed, although it local reports suggest the French champions could be set to face Jeonbuk Hyundai Motor at Busan Asiad Stadium in Busan.

A source at Korea's K League confirmed off the record Monday that there is no reason as far as the league is concerned that a game between PSG and Jeonbuk cannot go ahead as proposed on Aug. 3, although the league is yet to officially comment on the plan.

PSG is the third club to join the Coupang Play Series this year, with treble winners Manchester City and Atletico Madrid involved in two games at the end of July. Atletico are set to take on a team of K League players on July 27 and then face City on July 30.

PSG will arrive in Korea immediately after its already-scheduled tour of Japan, where the team will be based from July 22 to Aug. 2. The club was reportedly keen to add a stop in Korea, presumably to tap into the popularity of new signing Lee, a versatile midfielder with a huge following here.

An image released by Coupang Play on Monday announces the addition of Paris Saint-Germain to the Coupang Play Series. [COUPANG PLAY]

The Coupang Play Series kicked off last summer, when it was responsible for bringing Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and La Liga club Sevilla to Korea for two exhibition games.

There were five other teams expected to visit Korea this summer.

Rumors of a June clash between Napoli and Mallorca — the club that Lee called home until this week — fell flat, reportedly because organizers Stadium X and Untouchable Sport Group failed to put together the necessary funding to bring the two teams here.

Those same organizers were behind the 2023 Korea Tour, a new exhibition series that had features Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, Scottish Premiership side Celtic and Serie A club Roma.

All three teams withdrew from the series in the last two weeks, again because the promoters failed to meet financial commitments.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]