South Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung of Manchester United is set to sign with another Premier League club, Queens Park Rangers, reports said.
British media reported on Saturday that QPR agreed a deal to sign Park. The agreement could potentially be worth 5 million pounds ($7.7 million), and will see QPR pay an initial transfer fee of 2 million pounds for the 31-year-old.
Park has one year left in his current contract with United.
QPR owner Tony Fernandes would not confirm the signing, but told Reuters that the club would be making an announcement on Monday at 11 p.m. (Korean time).
“We’ve signed five players, we’ve got a few more to announce,” the Malaysian aviation entrepreneur was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Amid reports of a transfer, Park left for London on Saturday, one day ahead of schedule. Park was in Seoul for the K-League All-Star game last Thursday commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
QPR would be the fourth team in his professional career.
The 31-year-old Park began his pro career with the Kyoto Purple Sanga in Japan in 2000 at the age of 19. During the 2002 World Cup., he impressed Guus Hiddink, then South Korea’s head coach, who took him to a deal with his Dutch side, PSV Eindhoven, in December 2002. Park played there for three years before landing in England.
Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung of Manchester United hurries through the media at Heathrow Airport in London, Sunday. He returned to England amid reports of his imminent transfer to another Premier League club Queens Park Rangers, simply known as QPR. (Yonhap News)
Park joined Manchester United in July 2005, becoming the first South Korean to play in the Premier League. The Korean international has made 205 appearances and scored 27 goals for United since joining the club. He won four Premier League titles and the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League in the Red Devils uniform.
To focus fully on United, he retired from the Korean national team early last year after the Asian Cup.
In August, last year, he renewed his contract with United, which will see him play for the Old Trafford side until June 2013, but was relegated to a lesser role in the past season only to face an imminent transfer to the London-based QPR.
Currently well known as one of a few star athletes from Korea with a cult following, Park, a Seoul native, gained little attention until he graduated from high school in Suwon in 1999, due to his small stature for a football player.
He was rejected by a number of professional clubs and universities. However, he ended up playing for Myongji University after his high school coach strongly recommended him to the university coach.
His football life took off after entering Myongji in 1999. In January of that year, the university team trained with the Korean Olympics team, where he showed a splendid performance, attracting the attention of Olympic team coach Huh Jung-moo. In 2000, he was selected to the national squad for the Sydney Olympics. While he was a national team member and a second-year student at Myongji, Kyoto Purple Sanga offered him a contract and he took the offer.
His talent as a football player began to blossom at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He caught attention at home and abroad by scoring the game winner against Portugal in the final game of the group stage.
However, his career has not been without hurdles. He had an operation on his right knee in 2003 as a Eindhoven player and another surgery on the same knee in April 2007. Park then had to endure nine months of rehab.
An imminent transfer to the London side is likely to end his Red Devils’ career with 205 matches and 27 goals.
QPR have barely stayed in the first division by finishing 17th among 20 clubs. The bottom three teams in the Premiership each year are relegated to the second division, replaced by top three teams from the lower tier.
By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldm.com)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
