Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-yueng's contract at the Liberty Stadium was set to expire on June 30, Saturday. Swansea City were relegated from the English Premier League and will play in the second division, which is the Championship, next season.
Ki Sung-yueng will now leave Swansea City as the South Korean international has decided to join Newcastle United on July 1, Sunday. He will officially complete his move to the St James' Park on Sunday.
Ki Sung-yueng was part of the South Korea team in the FIFA 2018 World Cup and in the last group stage fixture, they went on to defeat the defending world champions Germany. That defeat for Germany meant they crashed out of the group stages of FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia.
A statement on Newcastle United's official website read, "Newcastle United have completed the signing of Korea Republic captain Ki Sung-yueng."
"The midfielder will join the club on July 1st after his contract expires at Swansea City, subject to receiving the appropriate visa. The 29-year-old has signed an initial two-year deal and he becomes the Magpies' second signing of the summer following the permanent arrival of Martin Dúbravka."
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez went on to express his delight after the English Premier League club signed Ki Sung-yueng.
"I'm pleased to welcome Ki to the club. He is a player with lots of Premier League and international experience and it was an easy decision to bring him here. He is the captain of his country, a good character and he will be a good addition to the squad," the former Liverpool and Real Madrid manager told Newcastle United's official website.
On signing for Newcastle United, Ki Sung-yueng said: "I'm so pleased I can join the club. I was always pleasantly surprised when I came to St. James' Park to play against Newcastle – there is a great atmosphere and the passion from the fans is a great support to the players. Everyone knows how big this club is so I'm really looking forward to playing with my teammates and for the fans."
