Hwang In-beom took care of his fans until the end

 Hwang In-beom took care of his fans until the end

Hwang In-beom, who left Olympiacos and moved to Tsurvena Zvezda, said goodbye through SNS.

Zvezda said on the club's website on the 5th (Korea Standard Time), "I am very happy to announce the recruitment of Hwang In-beom for the Korean national team." "I left Olympiacos and signed a four-year contract," he officially announced.

"Hwang In-beom was born in 1996 and is a member of the Korean national team. He played 45 A matches and scored 5 goals. He played as the best player in the K League and gained European experience playing for Rubin Kazan and Olympiacos. "I will be responsible for the midfield," he said, introducing Hwang In-beom.

Hwang In-beom also immediately said goodbye through SNS. Hwang In-beom said, "Thank you to all Olympiacos fans. I will never forget the love I received from you. Considering the support and love you gave me last season, all the criticism I've received is nothing. I also thank my team members, coaching staff, and support staff. I'm glad to see you guys are currently doing well early in the season. I hope you win and succeed in the Europa League. Thank you," he said.

Hwang In-beom, who made his professional debut at Daejeon Citizen (currently Daejeon Hana Citizen) in 2015, received great attention from a young age. Hwang In-beom, who won the gold medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, advanced abroad. He moved to the Vancouver Whitecaps of the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) to develop his adaptability to life in a foreign country, and later built a new nest in Russia's Rubin Kazan in the summer of 2020.

It just fluttered. Hwang In-beom quickly emerged as Rubin Kazan's ace and was responsible for the team's midfield in every game. While raising stock prices, I met a big variable. The league was suspended due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Fortunately, FIFA made a special clause and sought to return to the K League for a while. He signed a short-term contract with FC Seoul, boosting his form just before the World Cup.

He was even nicknamed Paulo Bento's crown prince. Hwang In-beom has been steadily selected for the national team since Bento's appointment, establishing himself as the core of Bento's soccer. In the beginning, there were ups and downs with numerous criticisms, but Hwang In-beom firmly won and played the role of Bento's heart. In fact, at the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup, Hwang In-beom formed a midfield with Lee Jae-sung and Jung Woo-young, contributing greatly to South Korea's round of 16.

After that, it newly built its nest in Olympiacos, Greece. Hwang In-beom immediately established himself as the core of the team's midfield. Hwang In-beom played the same role as Maestro in the third line, showing ball distribution, game tempo control, passes, and pressure. At the same time, he is a type of player who increases the number of attacks through instant second-line penetration and creates opportunities through direct breakthroughs. In February, he received the Greek League Player of the Month award.

The Greek stage was too small to contain Hwang In-beom. Hwang In-beom scored five goals and four assists in 40 games (3,430 minutes) in all competitions. Pass success rate was 89.1%, and intercept recorded 139 times. Hwang In-beom ranked sixth overall with a league rating of 7.42, third overall with a pass success rate of 87.9% per 90 minutes, 26th overall with 32 chances making (1.1 times per 90 minutes), and 21st overall with a long ball per 90 minutes (65.8% success rate).

This performance has attracted the attention of big European clubs. However, the terms of the contract led to friction with Olympiacos. Olympiacos claimed that at the time of the contract, it signed a three-year contract and that the contract period would be until June 2025.

However, Hwang In-beom's claim was a one-plus-two-year contract. Greece's "SDNA" said on the 14th of last month, "Hwang In-beom signed a 1+2 year contract with Olympiacos. He has been confirmed to have signed an extension option contract with Olympiacos. Hwang In-beom requested a transfer to the club and has already returned to his hometown," he reported.

"Hwang In-beom argues that the contract he signed is not a 'basic three years'. However, there is a buyout clause of 3 million euros (about 4.3 billion won) in the extension option, and Olympiacos is demanding a much higher transfer fee, he added.

Olympiacos even stirred up the Greek media and claimed that Hwang In-beom was breaking the contract. "The two-year extension option has already been activated after June 30, 2023," SDNA explained. In other words, Hwang In-beom's two-year extension option was signed regardless of Hwang In-beom's intention. In the end, Hwang In-beom was unable to leave the team as a free agent. For this reason, Olympiacos claims 10 million euros for Hwang In-beom's transfer fee. This is why Atalanta wanted to recruit Hwang In-beom, but it was canceled due to transfer fees.

Already, the gap between Hwang In-beom and Olympiacos has widened beyond narrowing. In this situation, Zvezda handed her hand. On the 4th, Serbia's SPORTAL said, "This great Korean is moving from Olympiacos to Zvezda." The two clubs prepared for the transfer late last night. He will be the first Korean player in the history of the Red Star as a member of the Korean national team," he explained.

"Hwang In-beom will be the most expensive player in Zvezda's history. The transfer fee to Olympiacos will be €5 million (£7 billion) and will be paid in three-year installments. The contract period is four years," he added.

The media even revealed the behind-the-scenes story of the transfer. "SPORTAL" said, "Hwang In-beom was in dispute with Olympiacos, and the case was delivered to the FIFA court." Hwang In-beom's side and Olympiacos' side have both reached a deadlock, claiming that their arguments are correct. Since then, Zvezda has joined the recruitment campaign and a compromise has been reached," he said.

It went on to say, "They'repeatedly. This is how Zvezda got a good player. Otherwise, Zvezda wouldn't have been able to handle such a good player under normal circumstances."

Eventually, Hwang In-beom moved to Zvezda, a prestigious Serbian club. Zvezda, nicknamed the "Red Star," is the team with the most wins with nine Serbian Superliga titles. He has won the championship for six consecutive seasons since the 2017-18 season.

This season is UEFA