Transfer rumors from the prestigious club Manchester United
Even with billions of dollars in annual wages, German cars look surprisingly understated
[이코노미스트 이지완 기자] There is a lot of interest in Kim Min-jae (27), a professional soccer player who plays in Italy’s Serie A. This is because rumors about a transfer to Manchester United (hereafter referred to as Man United), a prestigious club in the English Premier League, do not stop. Recently, Turkish media reported that Manchester United will recruit Kim Min-jae by paying a transfer fee of 50 million euros (about 70 billion won) after the end of this season.
Kim Min-jae’s ransom is soaring. When he left Fenerbahce in Turkey last year and wore a Napoli outfit, the transfer fee was 18.05 million euros (about 25.4 billion won). It has more than doubled in a year. His current annual salary in Napoli is 2.5 million euros (about 3.6 billion won). If the transfer to Manchester United is successful, the salary is also expected to rise sharply.
As Kim Min-jae’s fluctuating ransom and annual salary are revealed, interest in what kind of car he rides also grows. High-paid sports stars often ride in supercars that cost hundreds of millions of won. In the case of Son Heung-min, captain of the Korean national football team and playing for Tottenham in the English Premier League, he is known to own a Ferrari LaFerrari, a limited edition model of 499 units. At the time of its launch, the price of the factory is 1.5 million pounds (about 2.4 billion won).
Kim Min-jae runs a social network service (SNS), but does not share a personal car. At the time of my stay in Korea, there is only an introduction to Escalade sponsored by the American premium brand Cadillac.
According to Cadillac Korea, Kim Min-jae was supported by a Cadillac Escalade during his stay in Korea during the off-season of 2022. The Cadillac Escalade is a super-large SUV equipped with a V8 (6162cc displacement) naturally aspirated gasoline engine. Maximum output and maximum torque are 426 horsepower and 63.6 kg m, respectively. With a total length of 5380mm and a wheelbase of 3071mm (distance between front and rear axles, wheelbase), it provides plenty of interior space and loading space. The price is about 153.57 million won.
The car that Kim Min-jae uses in Italy was recently revealed through a YouTuber. The video posted by the YouTuber shows Kim Min-jae leaving work after training. The car he was riding at the time was a Fortwo compact car from the German automobile brand Smart. Smart is one of the car brands under Daimler in Germany.
Smart Fortwo is a two-door compact hatchback model that is unfamiliar in the Korean market but gaining popularity in Europe. It has a naturally aspirated I3 gasoline engine (displacement 1000cc) and produces a maximum output of 71 horsepower and a maximum torque of 9.2 kg m. Combined fuel consumption is 24.4 km/l, which is excellent for a compact passenger car. The price is about 34 million won.
Considering Kim Min-jae’s height (190cm), Smart Fortwo is very small. Smart Fortwo measures 2694mm in length, 1560mm in width (width), 1542mm in height (height), and 1867mm in wheelbase. It is estimated that the Smart Fortwo he rides is actually an electrified model. Starting from 2019, Smart is accelerating the transition to electrification. The Smart Fortwo electric model is equipped with a 17.6 kWh battery and can run around 130 km when fully charged.
An official from the imported car industry said, “The demand for compact cars is limited in Korea, but the demand for compact cars is still high in Europe and other countries where there are many narrow lanes.”
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