Kang-in Lee joins Atletico Madrid: AI video unveiling, €35m 5-year deal

Updated: July 25, 2026 — 21:42 CEST

By Patricia Cazón Editor

About the author: Patricia Cazón Trapote was born in Zotes del Páramo, León, in 1980. She holds a degree in Journalism from the Pontifical University of Salamanca and a Master's from El País. She worked at El Diario de León and El País Semanal before joining AS in 2004. A chronicler of Atlético since 2016, she is the author of four books and a panelist on El Golazo de Gol and Estudio Estadio.

It was five o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday in South Korea when, suddenly, an image on the Luux screen — the largest in the country, measuring 3,000 square meters and displaying in three different orientations thanks to its J-shape — stopped traffic and passersby on the facade of the Donga Media Center in the heart of Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. All eyes were raised and fixed on what was being projected: Kang-in Lee (25 years old) in the Atlético jersey. At last.

That five o'clock in Seoul was ten in the morning in Madrid, Spain — the moment when the red-and-white club hit the publish button to make official what had been unofficial for weeks: the signing of the South Korean. He is the first South Korean in Atlético's history, signing for five seasons (until 2031), for a fee of €35 million plus variables. He will inherit Griezmann's number 7 and occupies a non-EU spot.

Five Videos and AI Assistance

The presentation consisted of five videos developed specifically for the announcement with the help of AI. The footage shows Kang-in in various locations, including the Metropolitano, even though the player had not traveled to Madrid for the shoot. (For the medical examination, Dr. José María Villalón traveled to South Korea to perform it.)

The campaign synchronized the times of two countries more than 10,000 kilometers apart — and suddenly, both were looking only at Kang-in Lee in red-and-white. It was a planetary and pioneering campaign, the result of several days of coordination and work by Mr Red, Atlético's creative agency, to ensure everything was ready and synchronized for the end of the countdown. Here and there. Five in the afternoon in Seoul, ten in the morning in Spain.

Who Is Kang-in Lee? Meet Atlético de Madrid's New Signing

The footballer — the most important football star in his country after his stints at Valencia (the club he joined at age 10, where he played in the first team from 2018 to 2021), Mallorca (2021–2023), and PSG (2023–2026), where he won the Champions League in the last two seasons — is an old red-and-white desire. Third time was the charm after...