Park Ji-sung Assesses Lee Kang-in in Marca Interview… Cites Son Heung-min's Case

Park Ji-sung named Lee Kang-in the most technical player in Korean football history in a Marca interview published on October 12. Citing Son Heung-min's Premier League top-scorer title as an example, he also pointed to Lee's potential.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

Three-line summary

In a Marca interview published on October 12, Park Ji-sung assessed Lee Kang-in as the most technical player in Korean football history.
He explained Lee Kang-in's potential by citing Son Heung-min's joint 2021-22 Premier League top-scorer title with 23 goals.
Lee Kang-in recorded 16 goals and 16 assists in 124 appearances for PSG, and signed with Atlético through June 2031.

On October 12 (local time), the Spanish daily Marca published an interview with Park Ji-sung. The focus was Lee Kang-in, who moved to Atlético Madrid on July 25. The speaker's background adds weight. Park is a former national team player who spent seven seasons at Manchester United, making 205 official appearances and scoring 27 goals.

Park Ji-sung's Assessment of Lee Kang-in, Marca Interview, October 12

XSports News reported Park's words as: "Among the players Korean football has produced, the most technical player, I think." It is an assessment of technique.

The French outlet SO FOOT shared the interview content on the 12th, and domestic outlets including XSports News reported it on the 13th. The 12th is only the confirmed publication date. The actual recording or interview date has not been confirmed. The quotations in this article come from cross-checking several secondhand reports, not a verbatim Marca transcript.

Lee Kang-in's Ad Ties at Age 6 · Atlético Contract Through 2031

The personal experience Park cited dates from when Lee Kang-in was 6 years old. According to News1, Park recalled shooting an advertisement together with him back then and said he had already seen outstanding talent in him at that time. Lee Kang-in was born on February 19, 2001, and is currently 25 years old.

The contract expires on June 30, 2031. The transfer fee, reported by YTN, is up to 40 million euros including add-ons, and the club has not disclosed the figure. His official record at PSG is 124 appearances with 16 goals and 16 assists. Dividing his 32 goal contributions by appearances gives 0.26 per match.

The comparison to "Griezmann's successor" also followed this transfer. Park distanced himself from that comparison. MoneyToday·StarNews translated and relayed the report on the 13th, quoting him as saying: "I hope he grows into a world-class 'Lee Kang-in' rather than a second Griezmann."

Son Heung-min's 23-Goal Top-Scorer Case and Lee Kang-in's Weekly Wage of 115,000 Euros

Premier League official records show that in the 2021-22 season, Son Heung-min scored 23 goals to share the top-scorer title with Mohamed Salah. He was the first Asian player to do so. Park raised this case, calling it an achievement he had not expected himself, and said, "Lee Kang-in also has the potential to achieve results like that."

Reading this statement as a goal prediction would be an exaggeration. What Park pointed to is the possibility of an unexpected achievement. Lee Kang-in's goals per match at PSG are 0.13 goals, the same as Park's rate at Manchester United. That is about one-third of Son Heung-min's 0.38 goals per match at Tottenham. However, because the three players have different positions and roles, simple comparison has limits.

Player	Club	Official matches (appearances)	Goals	Goals per match
Park Ji-sung	Manchester United	205	27	0.13
Lee Kang-in	Paris Saint-Germain	124	16	0.13
Son Heung-min	Tottenham Hotspur	454	173	0.38

The NationalThis estimate table, compiled from salary website data (as of August 6, 2026), lists Lee Kang-in's weekly wage at 115,000 euros and ranks him joint 13th in the squad. The local report cited by Dailian gives 160,000 euros. Neither figure has been confirmed as an amount disclosed by the club.

Rank	Player	Estimated weekly wage (euros)
1	Jan Oblak	400,000
Joint 2	Ademola Lookman, Julián Álvarez	240,000
Joint 10	Pablo Barrios, Robin Le Normand, José Giménez	120,000
Joint 13	Morten Hjulmand, Lee Kang-in	115,000
15	Thiago Almada	100,000

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. When and where was Park Ji-sung's assessment of Lee Kang-in made?

It was an interview with the Spanish daily Marca, published on October 12, 2026 (local time), and reported in Korea on the 13th. The actual recording or interview date has not been confirmed.

Q. How much is Lee Kang-in's weekly wage?

The estimate table from The National (August 6, 2026) puts it at 115,000 euros, ranking him joint 13th in Atlético's squad. The local report cited by Dailian says 160,000 euros. Both figures are estimates, not amounts the club has disclosed.

Q. How many goals did Son Heung-min score for the top-scorer title?

He scored 23 goals in the 2021-22 Premier League season, sharing the top-scorer title with Mohamed Salah. He was the first Asian player to achieve this.

Related Official Sites

Atlético Madrid official profile of Lee Kang-in — check Lee Kang-in's registration information and season records
Atlético Madrid official squad — check the first-team roster for the 2026-27 season
Premier League official website — check official league records, including past top scorers

Representative image · archival photo · not a photo of the match currently covered in the article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Magnus D), CC BY 2.0