Atletico Madrid releases Lee Kang-in's fluent Spanish interview

Lee Kang-in wears the jersey of Spanish La Liga club Atletico Madrid. Captured from social media

Lee Kang-in, 25, who donned the jersey of Spanish La Liga club Atletico Madrid, expressed his eagerness to meet the fans of his new team.

Lee delivered his first greeting in fluent Spanish in an over 2-minute interview video released through the club’s official social media channels on Tuesday (local time). A product of Valencia’s youth academy who made his professional debut in Spain before moving to Mallorca, Lee is fluent in Spanish.

“I am truly happy, absolutely delighted to join this great club,” Lee said. “I can't wait for everything: to meet my teammates, to get to know the club, the manager, and all the coaching staff, and then to meet the fans.”

Lee officially joined Atletico Madrid on July 25. After spending three seasons at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in France, he reportedly moved to Atletico for a total package of 40 million euros (about $46 million), including a base transfer fee of 35 million euros and up to 5 million euros in performance-based bonuses. He signed a contract running through June 30, 2031, and was handed the No. 7 shirt previously worn by Antoine Griezmann, who is now with Orlando City.

Lee is set to make his Atletico debut in a friendly match against Manchester City at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Aug. 9. He had originally been scheduled to travel to Spain and play in a friendly against Manchester United on Friday, but his arrival was delayed due to administrative procedures related to his military service exemption granted after winning a gold medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, as well as the need for approval from the Military Manpower Administration to extend his overseas travel permit.

“I 've been told that Atletico fans are among the best in the world. I just can't wait to get started. I'm so eager to begin. Thankfully, there are only a few days left now,” Lee said.

“Both the club and I wanted to complete the move as soon as possible, but because of the paperwork I had to sort out here, it was a real shame that I couldn't join as quickly as we'd hoped,” he added. “Still, over the past few weeks, I've been training at a high intensity so that I can arrive in the best possible shape.”

Lee also emphasized his ambition, saying, “As a player and as a person, I have a winning mentality. I'm always ambitious and always striving to improve and achieve more.”

“For me, the most important thing has always been to help the team and I'm determined to achieve the goals that I have, and that the whole team has,” he said.

To end, Lee noted that the club already has considerable following in Korea and said he looks forward to enjoying more support going forward.

“Little by little, they'll get to know our club, its history and everything that makes us who we are. I'm sure Korean fans will really enjoy that, and we'll have many more suppporters than we have now.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.