Archive · 18 Aug 2026
Real Madrid youth record transfer; Lee Kang-in joins Atletico
Two big football stories happened on Monday.
First, a young player named Jacobo Ortega moved from Real Madrid's youth team to a French club called RC Strasbourg.
He is 19 years old and was the top scorer in Real Madrid's youth league last season.
Strasbourg paid 10 million euros for most of his rights, which is a record for Real Madrid selling a player who never played for the main team.
Ortega joined Real Madrid when he was 12 and stayed for eight years.
He signed a five-year deal with his new club.
Strasbourg is owned by the same people who own Chelsea.
Real Madrid also made money from selling other young players this summer.
Second, a player named Lee Kang-in joined Atletico Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain.
He is from South Korea and is 25 years old.
Lee said he always wanted to return to Spain because that is where he grew up and learned to play football.
Real Madrid sold 19-year-old youth player Jacobo Ortega to RC Strasbourg for 10 million euros (11.6 million U.S. dollars) for 70 percent of his rights, a record for a player who never played in the first team.
Ortega joined Real Madrid in 2018 at age 12, spent eight seasons in the youth academy, and signed a five-year contract with Strasbourg.
Strasbourg has the same club owners, BlueCo, as Premier League outfit Chelsea.
Real Madrid also earned around 50 million euros from youth products Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios and about 20 million euros in sell-on rights from Victor Munoz's move from Osasuna to Liverpool.
South Korean international Lee Kang-in left Paris Saint-Germain to join Atletico Madrid, saying he always wanted to return to play in La Liga, where he grew up.
- Who
- Jacobo Ortega, Lee Kang-in, Real Madrid, RC Strasbourg, and Atletico Madrid
- What
- Real Madrid sold youth player Jacobo Ortega to RC Strasbourg in a record transfer, while Lee Kang-in joined Atletico Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain
- When
- Monday
- Where
- Madrid and the Metropolitano Stadium
- Why
- The Ortega sale brings financial benefits to Real Madrid's youth system, and Lee Kang-in wanted to return to Spain, where he grew up, to play in La Liga
- Player transferred
- Jacobo Ortega (19, Real Madrid C-team)
- Transfer fee
- 10 million euros (11.6 million U.S. dollars) for 70% of rights
- New club
- RC Strasbourg (five-year contract)
- Record
- Most expensive Real Madrid sale for a player who never played in the first team
- Strasbourg owners
- BlueCo, same owners as Chelsea
- Other youth income
- Around 50 million euros from Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios; about 20 million euros in sell-on rights from Victor Munoz
- Lee Kang-in move
- Joined Atletico Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain
- Lee Kang-in age
- 25