The second half of the season with Mainz 05 seems to be a farewell tour for Jae-sung Lee. The South Korean suddenly and publicly speaks of a change in the summer. He felt it was the right time for another change.
Jae-sung Lee has made a name for himself in Germany over the last few years. Already at Holstein Kiel he showed himself to be an important performer. After three years with the Storks, he joined Mainz 05 in the summer of 2021.
Now, as after the 2018 World Cup, he seems to be plagued by thoughts of a change. Without warning and all of a sudden, the 30-year-old speaks of a change in the summer, although his contract runs until 2024.
On his personal blog, the offensive player now said (via picture): “I want to finish the second half of the season well and then I think it’s time to expect changes in the summer.”
The second half of the season with the 05ers should be a positive conclusion for him, it seems. He “of course has the desire” to continue playing football in Europe afterwards. “Be it in Germany or in another country in Europe,” he explained. Even now, before the winter break is even over, he is already thinking about his next club.
Lee feels that “even after the World Cup in Qatar, there seems to be a time of upheaval”. That time could have come for him in June, even if he doesn’t seem quite sure about it yet.
He is now “a person who is always looking for changes”. Lee continued: “The timing seems right again. Maybe it’s the last chance to change something. It depends on how I play in the second half of the season.” All the more he wanted to use the other 19 league games in order to be able to seize any opportunities if they came up.
The people of Mainz will certainly not be happy about this public mind games. After all, an important regular player, who has played ten of the previous 15 games from the starting eleven and has not missed a single game, is suddenly saying goodbye – despite the fact that his contract is still valid.
When asked by Bild, sports director Christian Heidel only said: “We are happy that he is at Mainz 05 and are looking forward to a great second half of the season.”
This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as a Mainz star flirting with a change.
