"I'm so proud that I'm stepping on the case of Lionel Messi."
The eyes of local French media toward Lee Kang-in (23, Paris Saint-Germain) in the 'Golden Boy' are increasingly negative. The criticism from the somewhat sluggish game is understandable, but harsh criticism is pouring out even in the game that is not. However, it is pointed out that this malicious evaluation was caused by Lee Kang-in's arrogant attitude. Lee Kang-in's unique style, which is not media-friendly, seems to have earned antipathy.
Lee Kang-in started as a right winger in the round of 64 of the 2024-2025 Coupe de France (France FA Cup) against RC Lance at dawn on the 23rd (Korea time), but failed to score an offensive point. He played for a total of 66 minutes before being replaced in the 21st minute of the second half. He recorded two effective shots in the 7th and 17th minutes of the first half. It was a pretty strong shot, but opponent goalkeeper Herb Coffey blocked it well.
Just because you didn't start and score an attack point doesn't mean you just didn't do it. In addition, PSG won the match 4-3 after a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw. It was a game in which not only Lee Kang-in but also all the players did not show remarkable performance.
Therefore, Lee Kang-in's game content or his linked play with his teammates should be evaluated on an objective basis. It is objective to look at the play record. European soccer statistics media SofaScore analyzed Lee Kang-in's play like this.
'A score of 6.9 was given based on 98% success rate (61 ball touches), 100% success rate of long pass, 1 key pass, and 4 ground contest wins' He is tied for seventh among the 11 starters. Although it is below the average score of the starting members (7.14), there are also three players who received a lower rating than Lee Kang-in. Midfielder Neves and Ruiz and defender Pacho received 6.5 to 6.7 points.
'It fell somewhat short of expectations'It's enough to give an evaluation. But the French media harshly underestimated it. Foot Mercato gave five points. "It was very active in the first half, but it was barely noticeable in the second half."
VIPSG, which mainly reports on Paris Saint-Germain, openly expressed its malice. It is not a criticism based on the content of the game. The media thinks Lee Kang-in is a star, although he struggles to establish himself in PSG. It seems that he is in pride because it is the core of PSG's Asian marketing. 'Lee Kang-in is following in the footsteps of Mauro Icardi, Leandro Paredes and Lionel Messi. We must realize the reality.
These are sentences filled with sentimental and presumptive expressions. He even pointed out that PSG is changing like players who were known to be arrogant such as Messi due to their star consciousness. There is no specific basis.
Rather, the evaluation of statistical companies is objective.
On the 20th, SofaScore announced the League 1 team of the year on its official SNS. Each position was selected to form a 4-1-2-3 formation, and Lee Kang-in was listed as a midfielder along with Aleksandr Golovin (AS Monaco) and Vitinha (PSG). Despite not being a fixed member of PSG selection, the rating was high. It's thanks to a lot of technically good plays.
Other statistics company Huscoordcom also included Lee Kang-in in the League 1 Best 11 in November 2024. In the 4-4-2 formation, Lee Kang-in was selected as the right winger. He is tied for fifth among the top 11 members with a 7.6 rating.
The reason for such a difference in evaluation is evidence that the French media sees Lee Kang-in's every move with an unflattering gaze. Lee Kang-in does not have much contact with the media when he plays the league. It was the same in Valencia, Spain. Soccer circles say that he was young and had a habit because he was not familiar with foreign languages. However, we cannot dismiss this appearance as 'stars arrogance'. It's just Lee Kang-in's style.
However, the French media cannot accept Lee Kang-in's appearance. As a result, malicious and emotional evaluations are bound to emerge rather than objective evaluations. The more this atmosphere continues, the worse it is for Lee Kang-in. It seems necessary to make efforts to overshadow the evaluation of local media or change the style with overwhelming skills.
