Lee Kang-in outsells Mbappe on PSG's online store

Football

Published: 24 Oct. 2023, 13:54 Updated: 24 Oct. 2023, 17:13

Lee Kang-in outsells Mbappe on PSG's online store

Lee Kang-in and Kylian Mbappe shirts are seen on sale on the official Paris Saint-Germain website in a screen capture Tuesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Attend any Paris Saint-Germain game and the crowd is a veritable who’s who of footballing royalty, with Lionel Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and even Zlatan Ibrahimovic all visible in their thousands — at least on the back of the fans' shirts.

But a new name is very quickly climbing up the PSG shirt ranks. According to recent reports, Lee Kang-in’s jersey is already rivaling Mbappe’s as the most popular this season.

French newspaper Le Parisien reported this week that while Mbappe still sells the most shirts in offline stores, Lee has already outpaced the 2018 World Cup winner online.

Both Messi and Neymar left the club over the summer and Ibrahimovic did so years earlier, leaving Mbappe and perhaps surprisingly 22-year-old Lee as the biggest names at the top French club.

Lee joined PSG this summer from La Liga club Mallorca for 22 million euros ($24 million).

A versatile midfielder with a serious turn of speed and some fancy footwork among his arsenal, Lee has been a well-watched player for years as a promising playmaker with energy to spare.

PSG's Lee Kang-in action during a French Ligue 1 match against RC Strasbourg in Paris on Saturday. [EPA/YONHAP]

That reputation increased dramatically last season as Lee stepped out from the assists role and started causing some serious damage: Half of his goals last season came in the space of 10 days in late April and early May.

Lee has spent a lot of his time in Paris this season sidelined with an injury, appearing in only three games so far including starting against Strasbourg on Saturday.

He has been busy on the international front, however, attending the Hangzhou Asian Games and earning a military exemption and joining the Korean squad for two friendlies over the October international break where he bagged three goals and picked up an assist.

Lee has long been a fan favorite back home, where he has been seen as the future of Korean football since starring on TV show “Fly Shoot Dori” at just six years old. He moved to Valencia a few years after that appearance and spent 10 years in the academy. Prior to joining PSG, he had only ever played in Spain.

Lee also sat down with PSG TV in an interview posted on social media over the weekend where he discussed the Asian Games and his plans for the rest of the season. Unlike in Spain, where Lee was fluent in the language and regularly conducted interviews in Spanish, the PSG interview was held in Korean.

“When I joined Paris this summer,” Lee said, “I wanted to play for this great club and help my teammates and the team as much as possible. It’s a big challenge for me, and now that I’m fit and able to play, I’m looking forward to getting back to it as soon as possible.”

Lee also gave some indication of where all those jersey sales have been going.

“With the national team, I’ve seen a lot of fans wearing the Paris Saint-Germain jersey,” he said. “That makes me very proud. It also makes me want to perform even better and help the team grow in Korea.”

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