Lee Chun-soos Career in Jeopardy (original) (raw)
Former South Korean international Lee Chun-soo could be on his way out of Al-Nasr as the winger has been placed on a clear-out list.
Lee Chun-soo, seen in this file photo, could soon find himself looking for a new team, as Al-Nasr plans to drop him if they are unable to find a team interested in acquiring him. / Korea Times File
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Former South Korean international Lee Chun-soo could be on his way out of Al-Nasr as the winger has been placed on a clear-out list.
The Saudi Arabian outfit is considering moving or loaning the 28-year-old due to his subpar performance, Goal.com reported Wednesday.
If the team is not successful in moving him, it plans to dump him.
Lee joined the Saudi Premier League in July, but he has managed just two goals in 10 games with the Riyadh-based club.
Just months after joining Chunnam Dragons and his 2002 World Cup team coach Park Hang-seo on loan from Dutch club Feyenoord in February, Lee, who scored four goals and added one assist in seven appearances with Chunnam until that point, moved to Al-Nasr for a reported 1 billion won salary.
Lee claimed he had an under-the-table agreement with Feyenoord at the time which would allow him to move to a new team if he is offered a salary greater than 900 million won, his salary with the Dutch club. This turned out to be false.
Lee was then suspended indefinitely by the Dragons, which means that he cannot return to the K-League ― where he won the rookie of the year award in 2002 and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2005) ― without Chunnam's permission.
If he is released by Al-Nasr, he will be free to find a new team in Europe or elsewhere but it will not be easy.
Lee, who also played for Real Sociedad and Numancia in the Spain's La Liga, did not impress enough to draw interest from scouts during his European stints.
In addition, the domestic league is unlikely to embrace the trouble-making footballer.
If Lee is released, it will be a huge blow to his already slim chances of playing at the 2010 World Cup.
Recently, Korean football manager Huh Jung-moo said that Ahn Jung-whan and Lee, key players in the past two World Cups who have not been on Huh's roster of late, are still on the national team's radar.
"If they continue to perform well on their teams, I will summon them later,'' Huh said.