Lee Dong-guk (41), the living legend of the K League,'The Lion King' leaves the ground.



Lee Dong-guk's team Jeonbuk today (26) knows that "Lee Dong-guk, who declared his second life after 23 years as a professional soccer player, will play the final game as a player on November 1, where the final match of the K-League will be held this season." I did it.



Lee Dong-guk plans to hold a retirement press conference at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 28th prior to the retirement match.



Prior to the announcement of the club, Lee Dong-guk told his social media today, "After this season, when I was in touch with regret and gratitude, I decided to leave the ground where I put everything in my life."



Lee Dong-guk said, "I made a decision after long thoughts with the mind that retirement is not the end, but a new beginning," he said. "It is already heartbreaking to think that it is the last game with fans wearing the number 20 such as the upcoming home game. "I will do my best in the name of player Lee Dong-guk."




Lee Dong-guk, who made his professional debut at Pohang Steelers in 1998, has played 547 games in the K-League and is scoring the most goals in the K-League with 228 goals and 77 assists.



After wearing the Jeonbuk uniform in 2009, he made a big success as a'living legend' of Jeonbuk and K-Leagues, having a second heyday, including seven victories in the K-League and one in the Asian Football Federation (AFC) Champions League.



In the first year of joining Jeollabuk-do, Lee Dong-guk, who led the team's first league championship and also won the top scorer, played 360 games in Jeonbuk alone, scoring 164 goals and 48 assists.



Lee Dong-guk also became the best striker in Asia beyond the K-League, with 37 goals in total (75 appearances) in the AFC Champions League.



After being selected as the national team for the first time in 1998, he competed in A match (between national teams) 105 times (10th in history) and 33 goals (all-time joint), including competed in 1998 (France) and 2010 (South Africa) World Cup. 4th place).



Lee Dong-guk looked back on his career as a player and summarized, "I was a very happy soccer player," saying, "I received as much attention and love as I had been called by many names for a long time by many people from the Lion King to my dad.



(Photo = Courtesy of Jeonbuk Hyundai, Lee Dong-guk Instagram, Yonhap News)