Lee Kang-in’s (22-PSG) Japanese best friend Takefusa Kubo (22-Real Sociedad) could return to his hometown club Real Madrid.
Spanish media outlet ‘Sport’ reported on Sept. 19 (KST), “Real Madrid are watching Kubo’s progress. If he continues to improve as he is doing now, they have plans to bring him back next summer.”
“Real Madrid sold Kubo to Real Sociedad in the summer of 2022 for a fee of €6 million. We need to negotiate with Real Sociedad to bring Kubo back.”
Kubo joined Spanish giants FC Barcelona in 2011 after playing for Tokyo Verdi and Kawasaki Frontale youth teams in the Japanese J-League. He played there until 2015, when he moved to Japan’s FC Tokyo youth team. His experience with various teams at a young age garnered him a lot of attention early on.
After making his professional debut with FC Tokyo, Kubo joined the Real Madrid senior team in the summer of 2019. He signed a five-year contract with the club and was highly touted early on, accompanying Real Madrid on their preseason tour of the United States and Germany.
However, he did not make an official appearance in a Real Madrid shirt that season. Just before the start of the season, he moved to Mallorca, Spain, on a one-year loan. He spent the next season on loan at Villarreal, then Getafe, and then Mallorca.
After bouncing around on loan, Kubo left Real Madrid in the summer of 2022 to join Real Sociedad outright. Here, he established himself as a regular starter. In the 2022-23 season, Kubo made 35 La Liga appearances, scoring nine goals and providing seven assists. In the 2023-24 season, he scored his first goal of the season in the first round of La Liga.
Lee, who grew up in Valencia, Spain, around the same time as Kubo, made a move this summer. He left Mallorca to join French top-flight club 바카라 Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). PSG signed Lee to a five-year contract and handed him a jersey with the number 19 on it.
He started Lee in the first two matches of the 2023-24 Ligue 1 season. PSG drew 0-0 with Lorient in the first round and 1-1 with Toulouse in the second round. Although he doesn’t have an attacking point yet, Lee has been deployed on the left and right wings, showing that he can compete for a starting spot.
Lee and Kubo are best friends. They were both selected for the South Korean and Japanese national teams at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. At the time, South Korea’s three group games were played a day after Japan’s. “Congratulations to Kubo and the Japanese team,” Lee said, and Kubo responded, “I hope Lee Kang-in and the Korean team win tomorrow.”
