Atletico Pays €40m to Make Kang-in Lee Its New 7

Atletico Madrid signed Kang-in Lee from Paris Saint-Germain on July 25 on a deal until June 30, 2031, and handed him Antoine Griezmann’s No. 7. The clubs did not print a fee. A source close to the talks put it at about €40 million without bonuses, or $45.5 million.

June talk had Paris selling a restless squad winger for about €30 million. What closed was a starter’s contract in Griezmann’s shirt, with two Spanish clubs he no longer plays for still in the money trail.

Paris Held Out and Banked About €40 Million

Lee, 25, had a PSG contract running through 2028 and had just helped the club to a second straight Champions League title. He still pushed to leave. Transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano wrote on July 6 that personal terms with Atletico had been agreed months earlier and that Lee wanted the move, with the deal worth around €40 million.

Paris paid Mallorca €22 million for him on July 8, 2023. The sale back to Spain left about €18 million on the buy price before add-ons, which the clubs have not confirmed. That June price talk, when Atletico were already circling and Paris sat in a €30 million Atletico bind, did not survive the talks.

THE FEE TRAIL FROM VALENCIA TO MADRID

PSG’s own goodbye listed 124 matches, 16 goals, 16 assists and twelve trophies, including two Champions Leagues and three Ligue 1 titles. The English-language club account posted the same thanks the day the deal was filed.

https://x.com/PSG_English/status/2081065168730046704

Griezmann’s No. 7 Came With the Creative Brief

Griezmann’s move to Orlando City was announced on March 24, 2026, and he left after the 2025-26 season as Atletico’s all-time leading scorer. Lee is not a like-for-like striker. He is a left-footed attacker who can play as a No. 10 or off either wing, which is the brief Atletico put on the page when it presented him as the new No. 7.

A talented left-footed midfielder, the 25-year-old can operate in the attacking midfield role or from either wing, and stands out for his vision, exquisite ball control and ability to pass and shoot. Kang In Lee is Atlético de Madrid’s new number ‘7’.

Club Atlético de Madrid, official announcement, July 25, 2026

He has signed until June 30, 2031 on a five-year contract and was the club’s third summer arrival after Morten Hjulmand and Alejandro Grimaldo. Atletico finished fourth in La Liga last season and reached the Copa del Rey final. The attack still had to replace the player who had created and scored for a decade.

Madrid reporter Marcos Durán put early Lee shirt sales at 30,000 in the first days and said Korean supporters had filled the club’s behind-the-bench VIP slots at the Metropolitano. Simeone, Durán wrote, wants him near the box. That is the wager inside the fee: a technical 10 in a side that often prefers to sit and break.

He Did Not Start a Champions League Game Last Season

Lee lifted the trophy in Munich in 2025 as part of a treble, then sat through another European run. On May 30, 2026, PSG beat Arsenal on penalties in the final and he became the first Asian player to lift more than one Champions League title. He did not leave the bench that night.

Luis Enrique used him in the league, especially when the first-choice attackers were out in the autumn. Europe was a different list.

LEE’S 2025-26 PARIS MINUTES

• Ligue 1: 27 games, 18 starts, 1,522 minutes, 3 goals, 4 assists.
• Champions League: 10 games, zero starts, 267 minutes, 0 goals, 1 assist, 91.4% pass accuracy.
• The final: Unused substitute on May 30, 2026, against Arsenal.
• Season line: 39 club games, 4 goals, 5 assists, per PSG’s own wrap.

He still produced when he was thrown on. On June 15, 2025, he came on in the 72nd minute of a Club World Cup tie and scored a penalty in a 4-0 win over the same Atletico side that later bought him. On August 13, 2025, he entered a Super Cup against Tottenham at 2-0 down, scored, and converted in a 4-3 shootout. Paris treated him as a spark. He wanted a week-to-week role.

Valencia Still Collects on a Free Exit

Lee left Incheon for Valencia’s academy at 10, debuted for the first team on October 30, 2018, in the Copa del Rey, and made 62 appearances before his contract was cut in August 2021. Mallorca took him on a free and sold him two years later. The clubs that shaped him are not out of the deal.

FIFA’s rules take a 5% solidarity contribution from a paid international transfer and split it among teams that trained the player between the calendar years of his 12th and 23rd birthdays. Spanish calculations against the €40 million working figure put Valencia near €1.4 million and Mallorca near €600,000.

WHO STILL GETS PAID

• PSG: About €18 million over the 2023 buy price, before any bonuses.
• Valencia: About €1.4 million in solidarity after a free exit in 2021.
• Mallorca: About €600,000 on top of the €22 million already banked in 2023.
• Lee: A five-year contract and the No. 7 shirt he could not get in Paris.

Valencia once put an €80 million clause on him and then let him walk to clear space. The solidarity cheque is a small recovery, not a second sale. Mallorca, which gave him 73 games and watched 7 goals, is the club that actually cashed the big number on the way to France.

Why Did a Group-Stage Exit Raise the Fee?

South Korea went out of the 2026 World Cup in the group stage, and Lee still left Mexico with a bigger club offer than the one floated in June. He started all three games and played every minute.

FROM THE WORLD CUP TO THE MEDICAL

1. June 11, 2026: Starts as South Korea come from behind to beat Czechia 2-1 in Zapopan. He goes 37 for 37 on passes, records three key passes, and slips the ball in for Hwang In-beom’s 67th-minute equalizer.
2. June 24, 2026: Plays the full 90 in a 1-0 loss to South Africa in Guadalupe. A left-foot shot from inside the box in the eighth minute runs wide of the far post.
3. June 29, 2026: Named in a Madrid sports daily’s group-stage Best XI, the only Asian on the list and the only pick from a side that failed to advance, on a 23.96 power ranking.
4. July 6, 2026: Romano reports a verbal agreement at around €40 million, with personal terms already done.
5. July 25, 2026: Both clubs announce the permanent transfer and the contract through June 30, 2031.

The World Cup line was 3 games, 270 minutes, 0 goals, and 1 assist. He has 50 caps and 11 goals for South Korea. The tournament did not give Atletico a knockout reel. It did confirm he can take a full international load, which PSG had not given him in Europe.

Shirt 7 Already Started at Anfield

By September 5 he had 4 La Liga appearances, 228 minutes, 1 goal, and 1 assist. On September 9 he started a Champions League league-phase night at Anfield in a 3-5-2 next to Julian Alvarez. UEFA logged 59 minutes against Liverpool, 26 completed passes from 28, 93% accuracy, 3 of 3 long balls, and 2 dribbles. He did not register a shot. Grimaldo and Ademola Lookman replaced Koke and Lee in the 59th minute. Liverpool came back to win 1-2.

That is the job he left Paris to take. Two European medals sat in the cabinet, and last season’s Champions League nights still came from the bench. Atletico paid about €40 million, gave him Griezmann’s number, and put him in the first eleven on a ground where PSG had not started him last spring. Valencia will take its cut. The minutes are the part he can spend himself.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Did Atletico Madrid Pay PSG for Kang-in Lee?

Neither club published a figure. A source close to the talks put the transfer at about €40 million without bonuses, which converts to $45.5 million, and that is the working number used for solidarity estimates; add-ons have not been confirmed by either side.

What Shirt Number Did Kang-in Lee Wear at PSG?

He wore No. 19 in Paris. Atletico issued him No. 7, the shirt Antoine Griezmann took to Orlando City when he joined the MLS club after the 2025-26 season.

How Long Was Left on Kang-in Lee’s PSG Contract?

Paris signed him on July 8, 2023, to a five-year contract running through 2028, so two seasons remained when Atletico completed the permanent transfer on July 25, 2026.

Did Kang-in Lee Win the 2019 U-20 World Cup Golden Ball?

Yes. He played every match as South Korea finished runners-up at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, scored 2 goals and made 4 assists in 7 games, and took the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.