Lee Kang-in greets Atletico Madrid fans in fluent Spanish: 'Aupa Atleti'

Lee Kang-in, who honed his skills in Valencia's youth academy, delivered his first message to Atletico Madrid fans in fluent Spanish after completing his move to the La Liga club.

Lee, who will wear the No. 7 jersey, shared his thoughts on joining the club through Atletico Madrid's SNS on Sunday.

Lee began his life in Spain in July 2011 at age 10 when he joined Valencia's youth academy, and made his La Liga debut in January 2019 in a Valencia shirt before leaving Spain in July 2023 to join French Ligue 1 powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain.

He returned to La Liga on Saturday after pulling on the Atletico Madrid jersey for the first time — his first appearance in the Spanish top flight in three years.

Having grown up in Spain, Lee is fluent in Spanish, and he delivered his opening remarks in the language.

"I am very happy to be joining such a big club," Lee said. "I can't wait to put on the Atletico Madrid shirt and enjoy this new adventure together with the fans."

He signed off with a shout of "Aupa Atleti."

"Aupa" is a word of Basque origin used as a warm greeting or rallying cry, roughly meaning "come on," "let's go" or "fighting."

According to local media, Atletico Madrid will pay PSG a transfer fee of 35 million euros ($39.8 million), with an additional 5 million euros possible through add-ons.

That would make it the second-largest transfer fee ever paid for a Korean player, behind only the 50 million euros Kim Min-jae commanded when he moved from Napoli in Italy to Bayern Munich in Germany in 2023.