Hwang In-beom joins Portuguese champions FC Porto

Korean midfielder Hwang In-beom poses in FC Porto's shirt after signing with the Portuguese club, in this photo captured from FC Porto's website, Tuesday. Yonhap

Hwang In-beom, a key midfielder for the Korean men's national football team for years, has signed with the reigning Portuguese champions, FC Porto.

The Primeira Liga club announced Tuesday they paid 4.5 million euros ($5.14 million) to Hwang's former Dutch club, Feyenoord, to bring the 29-year-old midfielder to Portugal on a three-year deal, with an option for a fourth season.

Hwang has been playing all over the world since making his club debut with the Korean side Daejeon Hana Citizen FC in 2015.

He had a spell with Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Major League Soccer from 2019 to 2020, and went on to play in Russia, Greece and Serbia, where he won two trophies with Crvena zvezda in the 2023-2024 season.

Hwang spent the past two years in the Netherlands and will now play in his seventh different country.

Hwang has collected 76 caps for Korea and represented the country at the 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cups.

At this year's tournament, Hwang had a goal and an assist in Korea's 2-1 win over Czechia in their opening Group A match in Mexico. Hwang was named the Player of the Match for his effort, though it ended up being Korea's only victory of the competition.

FC Porto have won 31 domestic league titles and are also the most decorated Portuguese club in international competitions with seven continental and global trophies.

Hwang became the second Korean player in the top Portuguese league for the upcoming season, joining FC Arouca midfielder Lee Hyun-ju.

"I am very excited to sign for FC Porto, one of the best clubs in the world," Hwang said in a statement published on the club's website while also describing himself as "a player who gives everything on the pitch."

"When you sign for a club like FC Porto, it is natural to feel the pressure because here you have to win," Hwang added. "But if we give everything in every training session and every game, we will be closer to success. We have a squad packed with quality players who won the title last year and are already thinking only about the next one. We were champions last season, and our goal is to keep the trophy here in the city. I hope I can help the team in this mission, which starts today at the training center. If we form a group with that drive, I think we can achieve something special again."