Napoli defender and Liverpool transfer target Kim Min-jae has issued an apology to his country after making a controversial comment about the South Korea national team.
The 26-year-old has taken to Instagram after the comments he made whilst on international duty caused quite a stir in his home nation.
As translated by Korean journalist Sungmo Lee on Twitter, Kim wasn’t happy after his side’s 2-1 loss to Uruguay.
“Right now, I’m exhausted, mentally broken. For a while… not for a while, I want to focus on club only,” said the Napoli star.
He was then asked whether this was due to transfer rumours, to which he replied: “No, I’m tired physically and also for football side.
“I’d rather focus on the club team rather than national team.
“I cannot say it was arranged in advance. I was talking with KFA on it but… I can only say this far. Thank you.”
According to Italian journalist Ciro Venerato for Tg Sport, the Reds are in pole position to sign the 26-year-old this summer.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are reportedly willing to spend £60m to land the central defender.
Liverpool target Kim apologises to South Korea national team
Subsequently taking to social media, Kim shared an apology.
He says there was a huge amount of pressure on him, and that he’s sorry for what he said.
Although this may be brushed under the rug by Napoli and the Korean team, this could cause alarm bells to ring for prospective buyers.
Some may interpret this as an attitude problem, putting them off a potential transfer.
In reality, he was probably just stressed and frustrated after losing the match to Uruguay.
Kim seems to be an exemplary footballer who the Reds would surely love to welcome to Anfield.
However, whether they actually sanction a £60m bid for him awaits to be seen.
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