Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the French Ligue 1 soccer club that Lee Kang-in (22) joined, will play a match in Korea next month on July 3, and interest in the team has been high in France.
PSG had originally planned to spend the summer in the United States in preparation for the 2023-24 season, but following an offer from Japan, the club could not pass up the “sweetheart deal” of traveling to South Korea and reaping more economic benefits, according to L’Equipe, a local French daily sports newspaper.
PSG made a surprise change to its pre-season plans in the U.S., hoping to generate even more revenue from the additional visits to South Korea than the €20 million ($285 million) offered by the Japanese side, according to the publication. “It has the potential to be the most economically valuable summer tour of any soccer club,” he said.
PSG’s decision to tour Asia was driven by the commercial potential of the region’s growing interest in soccer, the publication said.
South Korea and Japan have a large number of fans and soccer clubs with significant economic value, making an Asian tour an attractive proposition for clubs like PSG that want to increase their global value.
He added that PSG will tour the United States next summer as planned, and that the club will need to open a club store, engage with more fans, and grow its fan base on the continent.
Meanwhile, PSG will reportedly play three matches in Korea next month. On August 10, Coupang Play officially announced that PSG, last season’s French Ligue 1 champion, will visit Korea for a Coupang Play series match on August 3.
PSG’s opponent is likely to be Jeonbuk Hyundai. Prior to the trip, PSG will play a friendly match against Saudi Arabian soccer team Al Nasr, where Cristiano Ronaldo plays, in Osaka, Japan, on Aug. 25. On the 28th, they will face Cerezo Osaka of the J-League and on the 1st of next month, 한국야동 they will face Italian side Inter Milan in Tokyo.