Another old Chinese Super League player has made a name for himself in European football. On July 15, well-known transfer expert Romano confirmed that South Korean international center back Kim Min-jae had negotiated personal terms with Ligue 1 team Rennes, coached by former Guoan coach Genesio. The buyer will pay a transfer fee of 19.5 million euros to let him cooperate with Genesio again. It is worth mentioning that Kim Min-jae’s former club Beijing Guoan owns 20% of the transfer, which is nearly 4 million euros. This is a considerable sum for Guoan, which has been a little financially stressed recently. income.
The 25-year-old Kim Min-jae joined the Chinese Super League Beijing Guoan for 5.2 million euros in January 2019. His status as an active South Korean international and the favor from many European teams caused his move to join Guoan to cause a lot of controversy. In the two seasons of the Chinese Super League, Jin Minzai played 59 games in various games for Guoan. He had no goals or assists. His performance was not bad but there were not many highlights. In the summer of 2021, Jin Minzai left Guoan and switched to Turkish Super League Fenerbahce. The transfer fee was 3 million euros, but a clause for a second share of the transfer fee was added to the contract. Now it seems that Guoan is still very far-sighted.
In one season in the Turkish Super League, Kim Min-jae performed very well. He played a total of 40 games for the team in various games, including 31 games in the Turkish Super League and scored 1 goal. Although he underwent free ankle bone removal surgery due to ankle pain in May and needed to be out for 2-8 weeks to recuperate, this did not affect other teams' interest in him. Naples , Sevilla and Rennes and other well-known teams in 's five major leagues have all sent invitations to him. Naples coach Luciano Spalletti praised Kim Min-jae as a " Champions League -level defender" in an interview. Unfortunately, Naples had no choice but to give up in the face of Rennes' €19.5 million transfer fee.
From 3 million to 19.5 million, in just one year, Kim Min-jae’s net worth has skyrocketed by more than 6 times. Excellent physical condition and personal ability and the unique diligence and dedication of Korean players are the most important reasons, but the higher platform of the Turkish Super League also makes Jin Minzai like a fish in water. Here, not only is he baptized and trained in higher-level football, but it also allows teams from the five major European leagues to examine him more closely. Under the influence of various factors, it is logical that Kim Min-jae's value has skyrocketed and he will eventually land in the five major leagues.
Jin Minzai’s success actually serves as a good reference for Chinese players. We have always regarded the five major leagues as our goals for studying abroad, but at this stage, the level of Chinese local players, let alone the five major leagues, even quasi-first-class leagues such as the Portuguese Super League and the Eredivisie are very reluctant. Therefore, the most realistic choice is to lower the goal of studying abroad, first establish a foothold in some second-tier European leagues and receive experience, and then strive to play in higher-level leagues when personal strength improves. Leagues in countries such as Belgium , Austria , Greece , and Switzerland are good choices. If you become famous in these leagues, you will naturally not worry about not being favored by the teams in the five major leagues.
