I thought I had signed Young Player of the Year but he went missing and turned up at Arsenal
Lille chiefs were left incensed by Arsenal when Park Chu Young rocked up in London.
The South Korea international, an idol in his homeland was playing for a Monaco side that suffered relegation from Ligue 1 in 2011.
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After three years at the Louis II Stadium, it was time to depart for Park and a move to Lille was in the pipeline.
The striker had agreed a contract worth roughly £40,000-a-week after a fee was struck with Monaco worth €2.7million.
Park had even completed the first part of his medical but when the club expected him to turn up for the second part, he was nowhere to be found.
When they went to his hotel room, it was empty. There was no phone call, no message, nothing. Lille chiefs were baffled.
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Little did they know, Park had disappeared across the English Channel to London to sign for Arsenal instead.
“We haven’t had a telephone call, nothing,” said Michel Seydoux, Lille chairman.
“From what we understand he could be at Arsenal.”
It was quite the sting for Lille, who thought they had snapped up a real talent for a bargain price.
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In 2011, Park was already South Korea's captain.
Years before, he led the South Korean Under-20s to glory at the 2004 AFC Youth Championship, where he scored six goals - including two in the final.
It saw him win the MVP award, as well as the Golden Ball, but there was more to come when he was named Asia's Young Player of the Year.
So when Lille saw him slip through their fingers, it might be understandable to feel the club's fury.
However, Park's decision to ditch the Ligue 1 outfit did not work out very well for him as he went on to make just four games in three years at Arsenal.
Two loan spells to Celta Vigo and Watford followed, which ended up as fruitless endeavours, before being released by the Gunners in 2014.
Before Cristiano Ronaldo made it fashionable, Park moved to the Saudi Pro League where he signed for Al Shabab for one year before returning to Asia with FC Seoul.
Now at Ulsan Hyundai, the striker might come to regret moving to Arsenal, where he remains one of their most bizarre signings.
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