Paik Seung-ho
Former Barcelona prodigy returns to his home country
When Paik Seung-ho was turning heads as a Barcelona youth player, he must have dreamt of a triumphant homecoming to South Korea one day. It is probably safe to say, however, that it hasn’t quite turned out as he would have liked. The 24-year-old midfielder may have joined Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the K League champions and early season pace-setters, but the entire episode has been messy.
A decade ago, Paik was one of three South Korean talents on the books of Barcelona, along with Lee Seung-woo and Jang Gyeol-hee. They were an immense pride back in their homeland – especially Lee, who broke scoring records to become known as “The Korean Messi” – but the all-action Paik was the one who coaches felt could make it at the top level.
It didn’t work out. Paik moved to nearby Girona and ended up signing for Darmstadt in Germany’s second tier. Earlier this year however, Jeonbuk made moves to bring the Seoul-born star, who made his international debut in 2019, home to play in the K League for the first time.
Only it wasn’t that simple, as rivals Suwon Samsung Bluewings stepped in to remind everyone of their claim on the player. In 2010, Paik left Maetan High School, a feeder school for the Bluewings, to join Barcelona’s youth team. Suwon agreed to support the player financially in Spain, on the expectation that his stay would not be too long and that he would join the team when he returned home.
Paik ended up spending a decade in Europe but when it emerged that Jeonbuk were interested earlier this year, the Bluewings stepped forward to insist that the initial agreement was still valid. Jeonbuk stepped back but Paik and Suwon were unable to reach an agreement. The player then was still available and so, in March, Jeonbuk signed him.
Now Suwon want their initial outlay of around £200,000 back, plus another £700,000 for legal damages and costs. It is unclear as to what is going to happen. Jeonbuk’s position is that the dispute has nothing to do with them. Paik is unlikely to have that money lying around, so with Suwon threatening legal action it could get ugly. The K League, though, are keen to put the row to bed and get the former Barca product playing regularly again.
That is the hope, although Suwon may not appreciate the sight of Paik achieving his full potential for their rivals. There was once a great deal of excitement about the midfielder’s career, active at both ends of the pitch, but it has stalled.
His return home has started rather slowly, though it may take more time to get into a strong and in-form Jeonbuk team. Local media described his debut as “not bad”, but requests for an interview with the player were denied due to the uncertain situation that still hangs like a cloud above him.
Hopefully, things will improve on and off the pitch and Paik can show some of the talent that once caught the attention of Barcelona.