By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter

Former South Korean international Ahn Jung-hwan plans to wrap up his storied career abroad.

``It appears to be tough to find a new team in the K-League, so we have given up staying in the local league,'' Ahn's agent Choi Wol-gyu said.

``If he pulls off a new deal to play in an international league, he will end his career there after a one-year stint or two.

``We have been in negotiations with teams from Major League Soccer (MLS) and Australia's A-League. It is too early to jump to a conclusion. They have been favorable to him.''

Ahn has been rumored to be in talks with several MLS teams, but no team has come close so far.

The 33-year-old striker made his K-League debut with Busan Daewoo, a forerunner of Busan I'Park, in 1998 and won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award the next year.

In 2000, he was transferred to AC Perugia, but was shown the door after his extra-time golden goal in a quarter-final match against Italy at the 2002 World Cup.

After the release, Ahn played in the Japanese, French and German leagues for five years.

Highly-hyped Ahn returned to the domestic league with Suwon BlueWings in 2007, but failed to regain the touch that made him one of the best players in Korea, ending with no goals scored in the regular season.

After a sluggish one-year spell at Suwon, he rejoined Busan last season.

In 2008, he played 19 regular-season matches and scored four goals, along with two goals in eight appearances in the league cup competition.

Ahn and Busan had talked about him re-signing, but the two failed to reach an agreement.

K-League teams seem to have little interest in the aging star player because they would have to pay 1 billion won ($659,000) on a transfer fee.

``There has been no club to show an interest in Ahn,'' Busan's general manager Ahn Byeong-mo said.

``We can negotiate the amount, but cannot give him up for free.''

However, the clock is ticking fast, with the K-League's deadline for free agent registration on March 2.

``The Australian league kicks off in July, and we have two or three weeks for the MLS. We are in talks with teams, but with no hurry,'' the agent added.

ksw@koreatimes.co.kr