Lee Jae-sung extends contract with Mainz 05

Veteran midfielder Lee Jae-sung, 30, signed a two-year contract extension with Bundesliga team Mainz 05 on Tuesday instead of joining a different club. Mainz announced on its website that Lee will stay at the club through 2026.

Korea's Lee Jae-sung, left, shoots during a friendly against El Salvador at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon on June 20. [NEWS1]

Veteran midfielder Lee Jae-sung, 30, signed a two-year contract extension with Bundesliga team Mainz 05 on Tuesday instead of joining a different club.

Mainz announced on its website that Lee will stay at the club through 2026. His contract was to expire at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Mainz was keen to keep Lee, who established himself as a regular pick at the club. He played 34 league games during the 2022-23 season and picked up seven goals and four assists — the most goal contributions during his Bundesliga career.

“Lee Jae-sung and Mainz 05 is simply a great match,” board member for sport Christian Heidel said on Tuesday. “He has become a key player with his intelligence, danger in front of goal and his fighting mentality, plus he’s a real fan favorite too. Jae-sung is a hugely likeable guy. We’re pleased that he will continue to play for Mainz 05.”

Mainz manager Bo Svensson is also on the same page.

“Jae-sung has shown over the past two years how important a player he is for us,” Svensson said. “He possesses the same values we do as a club and fights and runs until he can’t anymore. His creativity massively helps the team on the pitch.

“I don’t know anybody that doesn’t like Jae-sung, he’s a fantastic person and it’s great that he’s staying here until 2026.”

Lee’s decision to extend his stay in the Bundesliga came despite being linked to Premier League club Crystal Palace earlier this year.

“I was really happy when Mainz 05 came to me about a contract extension,” Lee said. “I feel right at home here and I’m excited to be spending the next three years with FSV [Mainz] and to carry on playing in front of these amazing fans. I will give my best for them and try to celebrate lots of wins and more success together.”

A picture of Lee Jae-sung shared on Mainz 05's official Instagram account on Tuesday after his contract extension with the club [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Having made his pro debut with K League team Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in 2014, he quickly became a key player at the club.

He provided 17 assists during the 2016 season and went on to win the Most Valuable Player award in the 2017 K League after managing eight goals and 10 assists.

Those stats allowed him to join Holstein Kiel in the second division of the Bundesliga in 2018, where he spent three solid seasons before joining Mainz in 2021.

Lee adapted to the new team well thanks to prior experience in Germany, managing four goals and three assists in the league to finish the 2021-22 season in eighth place with Mainz.

He has also made 71 caps for Korea since his national team debut in 2015.

He has yet to make his UEFA competition debut, however, as his team has never finished above eighth place since he joined the club — ninth place last season.

In the Bundesliga, the top four teams qualify for the Champions League, with fifth and sixth-place teams landing in the Europa League and the seventh-place team reaching the Europa Conference League playoff round.

The last time Mainz participated in a UEFA tournament was in the 2016-17 season when they finished the Europe League in the group stage.

Whether Lee can help Mainz reach a UEFA competition before the end of his contract remains to be seen once the 2023-24 Bundesliga season starts in August.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]