Park Ji-sung, the "father of overseas soccer," made waves in 2005 when he moved from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven to England's most prestigious club, Manchester United (Man United).
The Red Devils had won the 1999 treble, so it was no exaggeration to say that they were the strongest team in Europe. However, Park's move to United, which is considered the "end of his career," did not end his transfer rumors. As a rare player in Europe who can play as a midfielder and tie up the opponent's ace and act as a lubricant for attack and defense, there were many clubs that wanted him even after his move to United.
Italian giants Juventus and one-time purple darlings Fiorentina were among them, but the most heated transfer speculation during Park's time at United was to German giants Bayern Munich.
Park wore the captain's armband on his left forearm at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where he helped South Korea to its first-ever away World Cup round of 16 appearance, and talk of a move to Munich began to surface.
In July 2010, U.S. media outlets such as Fox Sports and Goal.com reported that United was working to bring in Bayern Munich defender Philipp Lahm, but that the Bavarians also had players they wanted and were looking to sign midfielder Park Ji-Sung or striker Dimitar Berbatov.
There was enough potential for a trade, or a swap deal in European terms, to happen. United were told by Munich that they were willing to sell the 27-year-old.
The British Daily Mail also reported the possibility. "Ferguson has said he believes Berbatov can be kept at Old Trafford for another season," the paper reported. Park Ji-Sung is still a key figure in Ferguson's squad," but "it's hard to believe that left-back Rafael da Silva is ready for the United first team. That's why Ferguson is looking for Lam."
With multiple media outlets reporting simultaneously, and the circumstances being quite specific, the possibility of Park Ji-Sung moving to Munich was quickly ignited. Man United is a great club, but Munich is also a big club, a prestigious club that every soccer player wants to play for. Unlike Man Utd, who at the time were forming a strong rivalry with Chelsea and Arsenal, Munich were coming out of a slump and flying high in the Bundesliga, so it was a team that could add trophies to Park Ji-Sung, who already had a lot of 'winners' suits'.
Park Ji-Sung was a player with a status worthy of the number 13 shirt. He scored goals against some of the best technicians of his time, including Lionel Messi and Andrea Pirlo. But he's also far from perfect, and in the 2007 UEFA Champions League final against Chelsea in Moscow, Russia, he was left out of Alex Ferguson's 18-man squad and watched from the stands as his team won its first European title in eight years.He scored the winning goal against Greece at the World Cup in South Africa, so a move to Munich could have meant a new chapter in his soccer career.
In the end, the transfer never happened. As the transfer speculation grew, Park's agency said, "We have not received any official offer from Munich," and Park himself said, "I haven't heard anything at all. I can't say anything because it's just what I heard in the media."
However, years later, after his retirement, the truth of the Munich transfer rumors were revealed.
Park moved from United to Queens Park Rangers (QPR) in 2012, which is owned by Tony Fernandes, the chairman of Malaysia's low-cost airline AirAsia, before spending a year on loan at his hometown club PSV in the Netherlands in 2013 and retiring in the summer of 2014. 먹튀검증
Park Ji-sung held a retirement ceremony at the Park Ji-sung Football Center in Suwon, where all of his club and national team jerseys were hung up, and he admitted that he had been approached by Munich.
Park showed off his rustiness by playing the full 90 minutes in the 2011 Champions League final against FC Barcelona, the second Champions League final he wanted to play in, proving that staying at United was the right choice. However, when rumors of a move to Munich surfaced, there were many fans who wanted Park Ji-Sung to go to another prestigious club and spread his wings.
This is why it is believed that Park Ji-Sung would have been a bigger sensation than Kim Min-Jae if he had gone to Munich. The Bavarians were also linked with Tottenham's Son Heung-min in 2018, but the transfer rumors quickly died down. In the same year, they were linked to new striker Jung Woo-young, and last year, Kim Min-jae.