Kang In Lee Joins Atletico Madrid as New Number 7
Atletico Madrid have their new number 7 – and it is a name La Liga knows well.
The club have confirmed the signing of Kang In Lee from Paris Saint-Germain, tying the South Korean international to the Metropolitano until 30 June 2031 after reaching an agreement with the French champions. A statement on Atletico’s channels sealed what has been building for years: a gifted playmaker, forged in Spain, returning at his peak to a league that watched him grow up.
Back to the league that made him
For Lee, this is not a leap into the unknown. It is a return to the stage where he first announced himself.
He joined Valencia’s academy at just ten years old, a slight left-footer with a sharp first touch and a sharper football brain. By October 2018 he had forced his way into the senior side, debuting as a teenager and going on to make 62 appearances for Los Che. The talent was obvious, even in a turbulent Valencia side.
The next step came in August 2021 with Real Mallorca. There, under two former Atletico figures in Luis García Plaza and Javier Aguirre, Lee found both responsibility and rhythm. He featured in 73 matches across two seasons, becoming the creative hub of a team that had to fight for every point. That profile – technical quality, work ethic, intelligence between the lines – did not go unnoticed at the Metropolitano.
From the island he jumped to the elite. PSG moved in during the summer of 2023, and Lee responded with volume and silverware. Across three seasons in Paris he racked up 124 appearances, scoring 16 goals and supplying 16 assists. The numbers tell only part of the story; the honours list fills in the rest.
Two Champions League titles. A UEFA Super Cup. An Intercontinental Cup. Three Ligue 1 titles. Two Coupe de France triumphs. Two French Super Cups. By 25, Lee had lived the full PSG experience – pressure, expectation, and trophies as a minimum requirement.
A proven international, still climbing
The international stage has never daunted him either.
Lee has already collected 50 caps for South Korea, a central piece in a generation that refuses to be intimidated by reputations. His rise began with the under-20s, whom he dragged all the way to the 2019 World Cup final, earning the Golden Ball as the tournament’s outstanding player.
He added another landmark with the under-23s at the 2023 Asian Games, helping secure gold and underlining his status as one of his country’s standard-bearers. His most recent outings for the national team came at the World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, a global shop window that only reinforced his standing.
This is not a prospect Atletico have signed. It is a finished international footballer stepping into his prime.
Simeone’s new kind of weapon
Atletico’s own description of Lee is telling. They present him as a left-footed attacking midfielder, comfortable as a classic number ten or drifting in from either flank. They highlight his vision, his technique, his passing range and his ability to strike at goal. None of that sounds accidental.
He will wear the number 7 shirt at the Metropolitano, a number that carries weight at a club where wide forwards and second strikers have often been the stars of the show. Handing that shirt to a creator rather than a pure winger hints at a subtle shift.
Diego Simeone has built more than a decade of success on defensive structure and ruthless transitions, but the recent evolution of his side has demanded players who can keep the ball, not just chase it. Lee fits that demand. He can receive under pressure, link midfield to attack, and unlock tight defences that no longer fear sitting deep against Atletico.
The move looks like a deliberate step in the ongoing reshaping of Simeone’s midfield. A group once defined by destroyers and runners now leans more heavily on players who can dictate tempo and work in crowded spaces.
The next test: fitting into Simeone’s machine
The transfer is done. The real work starts now.
Preseason will give Simeone his first extended look at how Lee meshes with the existing attacking structure. Does he become the central playmaker behind the striker? Does he start wide, drifting inside to overload the middle? Does his arrival push other attacking midfielders or wide players towards the exit?
Those are decisions for the coming weeks, but the length of the contract sends a clear message. Atletico are not treating Kang In Lee as a stopgap or a market opportunity. They are betting that, for the rest of this decade, their attacks will often start at the left foot of a South Korean who grew up with La Liga at his feet.
Now he comes back to try to shape it.
