Former Borussia Dortmund defender Lee Young-pyo, left, and Udinese winger Simone Pepe challenge for the ball during the UEFA Cup first round, first leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Udinese Calcio of Italy in Dortmund, Germany on Sept. 18, 2008. Lee signed a one-year deal with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal, Saturday. / Korea Times File |
By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter
Former Borussia Dortmund defender Lee Young-pyo signed a one-year deal with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal on Saturday, Lee's agency Jissen confirmed.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but local media in the Middle Eastern nation is reporting that the deal is worth 1 million euros (1.8 billion won or $1.4 million).
Lee will become the second South Korea-born player to have joined Al-Hilal. Seol Ki-hyeon played for the team for six months this year on loan before deciding to return to English Premier League side Fulham earlier this month.
Lee passed a physical before signing the contract, and the 32-year-old fullback will leave for the team's Austria training base on Tuesday.
The Riyadh-based team has won 11 league titles and was runner-up in the 2008-09 season behind Al-Ittihad.
Lee was looking for a club that would provide him with a chance to play as his playing time cut with Borussia Dortmund when Leonardo de Deus of Brazil, better known as Dede, returned to the German club last season.
The native of Hongchun, Gangwon Province, joined Dortmund from English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur last year and played well in 15 consecutive appearances in league and cup matches, but was then sidelined after suffering a foot injury.
Lee's decision to sign with the Saudi club was partly influenced by the fact that there is no income tax in the oil-rich nation while the income tax rate in Germany is about 40 percent.
Religion also played a part in Lee's move. Lee, a devout Protestant, admitted in his book ``Success is not a success, failure is not a failure'' released in May that he had declined a transter to AS Roma because the city is predominently Catholic.
It was also reported that advice from Seol Ki-hyeon led him to choose Al-Hilal.
Lee debuted in the K-League with Anyang Cheetahs ― a predecessor of FC Seoul ― in 2000, and played for the club until 2002. He received plenty of attention for his speed and dribbling skills during the 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup and later moved to Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, following former national team manager Guus Hiddink.
Lee is also one of seven Korean players to earn 100 caps for the national team. He joined the century club in a World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia in November 2008, and has now played a total of 106 matches for Korea, scoring five goals.
Meanwhile, former Chunnam Dragons forwad Lee Chun-soo is trying to join another Saudi club, Al-Nasr.
shosta@koreatimes.co.kr
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