Ki Sung-yueng (; ; born 24 January 1989) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for K League 1 club Pohang Steelers.
From 2008 to 2019, Ki was a full international for South Korea, gaining 110 caps. He was selected in their squads for three World Cups, leading them as captain in the 2018 edition in Russia, and participated in three Asian Cups, finishing as runner-up in the 2015 edition. He has also played at two Olympic Games with his country, winning bronze in 2012.
On 20 May 2015, Ki was voted Swansea City's Player of the Year as he scored eight goals in 33 appearances, with whom he also won the EFL Cup in 2013. He has also won the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Cup with Celtic.
Early life Ki started his football career at Suncheon Jungang Elementary School Football Club, and later joined Gwangyang Jecheol Middle School. In 2001, he went to Brisbane, Australia, to study at John Paul College under the BSP (Brain Soccer Program) overseen by Jeff Hopkins. His father saw the move as an opportunity for Ki to combine his athletic and academic pursuits as well as to learn English. Ki played his youth football for the school team and was part of the team that won the 2004 Bill Turner Cup, the national inter-school under-15 soccer competition. In 2005, he received offers from South Korean club FC Seoul and A-League club Queensland Roar, but decided to move back to South Korea to continue his education and career. After moving back to South Korea, Ki attended Kumho High School where he graduated in 2006.
Club career FC Seoul Ki returned to South Korea and joined FC Seoul, where he played alongside national teammate Lee Chung-yong. He was an unused substitute in the last match of the 2006 League Cup. Under Şenol Güneş, he made his senior debut in the K League on 4 March 2007, in a match against Daegu FC.
During the 2008 season, Ki reinforced his position as a key player of FC Seoul. On 29 October 2008, Ki scored the winning goal against Seoul's biggest rivals Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the 92nd minute. Ki performed a "Kangaroo Ceremony", which he claims to be an imitation of Emmanuel Adebayor's ceremony, but Suwon fans have argued that this was imitation of 'chicken', which is what many Seoul fans call Suwon. He led the team to an unprecedented K League runners-up position with four goals and one assist in 21 appearances.
In FC Seoul's first K League match of the 2009 season, Ki scored one goal in the 6–1 defeat of Chunnam Dragons. There was increasing speculation regarding a high-profile move abroad, with suitors including PSV, Hamburger SV and Porto, among others.
Celtic On 25 August 2009, it was revealed that contact between Celtic and FC Seoul had occurred regarding the possibility of Ki's transfer to the Parkhead club. However, the player's agent stated an immediate move would be unlikely given Seoul's success in the league and the Asian Champions League. Yet, three days later, Celtic clinched a £2.1 million transfer for Ki. He linked up with the Parkhead side in the January transfer window at the end of the K-League season. The signing was confirmed on 13 December 2009 after Ki passed a medical and secured a work permit. Ki reportedly turned down an offer from English club Portsmouth, then of the Premier League. He took the number 18 with "Ki" on his shirt. He made his debut for Celtic in a 1–1 draw against Falkirk at Celtic Park on 16 January 2010, winning the Man of the Match award from the official Celtic website. He played a further four matches for Celtic that season, but struggled to make much impact in what was a period of upheaval for the club.
Ki barely played for Celtic in the first month of season 2010–11, but came off the bench to score his first competitive goal for Celtic on 22 August 2010 with a shot from 25 yards in a 4–0 victory against St Mirren in the Scottish Premier League (SPL). By the end of October he had become a first team regular and was voted the SPL Young Player of the Month for October 2010. However, on 30 October 2010, Ki found himself the recipient of apparent racist abuse during a league match away at St Johnstone. A section of the St Johnstone support were heard making barking noises – "woofing" – at Ki as he took a corner kick. Chants of "Who ate all the dogs?" were also heard from the home fans throughout the match.
Ki scored his second goal of the season in a 2–2 draw with Inverness Thistle at Celtic Park. On 26 December 2010, Ki scored against St Johnstone in a 2–0 victory in the SPL, in what was his last match for Celtic before travelling to Qatar to play for South Korea in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in January. On returning to Scotland in February, Ki returned to the Celtic first team for the 2–2 draw against Rangers in a Scottish Cup tie at Ibrox Stadium. Celtic played a significant part of the match with only ten men after goalkeeper Fraser Forster was sent off, but the midfield – including Ki – won praise for the manner in which they dominated the match in the second half. Ki also played in the replay at Celtic Park, an ill-tempered match which Celtic won 1–0. On 21 May 2011, Ki scored the first goal of Celtic's Scottish Cup Final win against Motherwell with a left-footed strike from around 35 yards. He also won the official Man of the Match award.Celtic beat Motherwell in Scottish Cup final to end season on a high The Guardian, 21 May 2011
Ki started the 2011–12 campaign in Celtic's opening match against Hibernian in the SPL. Scoring the second goal in a 2–0 victory, a 25-yard left foot strike into the right hand bottom corner and also won the Man of the Match award from the official Celtic website. He impressed Celtic manager Neil Lennon so much in the Hibernian match that he said:
Ki then went on to score another goal on 13 August 2011 in the SPL in a 5–1 win over Dundee United at Celtic Park, a strike into the top left-hand corner from the edge of the box. A couple of days later, it was reported that Premier League sides Blackburn Rovers, Tottenham Hotspur and several clubs from the Russian Premier League were interested in signing Ki. The next day, Celtic issued a "hands-off warning" to the interested clubs, saying it would take a bid of significant proportions for Celtic to allow the increasingly important midfielder to leave the club. On 10 September 2011, Ki again impressed against Motherwell, this time in the SPL with a superb strike from outside the box with his right foot. Celtic went on to win the match 4–0. On 29 September, he started in Celtic's 1–1 draw with Italian side Udinese, scoring from a penalty after three minutes. On 18 December 2011, he scored the second goal of the match as Celtic defeated St Johnstone 2–0 at McDiarmid Park in the SPL. Over the course of the 2011–12 campaign, Ki scored seven goals and had six assists, playing a key role in helping Celtic win the Scottish title.
Swansea City
On 24 August 2012, Ki transferred to Swansea City for around £6 million on a three-year contract, which was Swansea's record transfer fee until it was later broken by Wilfried Bony. Ki made his debut for the Swans in a 3–1 victory against Barnsley in the second round of the League Cup at Liberty Stadium on 28 August. Wearing the number 24 shirt, Ki started as a central midfielder and was substituted off in the 76th minute.
Ki enjoyed a promising debut season in the Premier League. Although he failed to replicate the scoring form he displayed at Celtic, his passing style drew praise from supporters and critics, and he finished the season with 38 appearances in all competitions. On 24 February 2013, Swansea City competed in the final of the League Cup. Ki played for over an hour in the final in an unfamiliar central defensive role. The tactical switch proved to be a success, as Swansea ran out comfortable 5–0 winners against Bradford City as Ki won his first trophy with the Welsh club.
Loan to Sunderland
On 31 August 2013, Ki joined Sunderland on a season-long loan with a mid-season re-call option. He scored his first goal for Sunderland on 17 December 2013 in a 2–1 League Cup quarter-final win over Chelsea, cutting inside Ashley Cole then beating goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer with a low shot in the 119th minute for the winning goal. On 26 December, he scored his second for Sunderland in a 1–0 away win over Everton. Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard played a short pass to Leon Osman who was robbed of the ball by Ki. Howard brought Ki down and was sent off, and Ki converted the penalty kick himself to give the Black Cats a vital win. It was Ki's first league goal. Ki's third goal for Sunderland came in a 4–1 away win at Fulham from a well-worked set piece by Adam Johnson.
On 22 January 2014, Ki reached his second consecutive League Cup final as he helped Sunderland defeat Manchester United 2–1 on penalty kicks after the two-legged semi-final had finished level on aggregate, with Ki and Marcos Alonso scoring Sunderland's penalties. Ki played against Manchester City in the League Cup final on 2 March, but despite leading 1–0 at half-time, they were overpowered by City in the second half, eventually losing 3–1.
Sunderland spent most of the Premier League season in the relegation zone, but Ki played his part in their recovery, even playing on despite suffering tendonitis in his knee for several months. He played his last match for Sunderland on 10 April 2014. Sunderland succeeded in avoiding relegation, and eventually finished 14th.
Return to Swansea Ki returned to Swansea for the start of the 2014–15 Premier League season, stating, "This is my third season in the Premier League, and I want to grow as a player and improve to help the team." He scored the first goal of the season in a 2–1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on 16 August 2014. On 28 August, he signed a new contract to last until 2018. Ki became a regular in the team under new manager Garry Monk, and by the end of December, had started in every Premier League fixture. Ki did not play for Swansea during January 2015 as he was away on international duty with South Korea at the Asian Cup. On his return in February 2015, he went straight back in to the team and scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw with Sunderland. Swansea lost their next match 2–0 against West Bromwich Albion, but ten days later, the team recorded their second win of the season over Manchester United with Ki scoring their equalising goal in a 2–1 win.
Ki played 28 times during the 2015–16 Premier League season, scoring twice. His first of the season on Boxing Day against West Bromwich Albion in an eventual 1–0 win, and the second on 8 May 2016 against West Ham United. He made three less appearances in the 2016–17 Premier League where, which the club struggled in for the majority of the season, Swansea narrowly avoided relegation, but the player did not score in that campaign. In the 2017–18 Premier League season, it was another struggle for the club. Ki scored twice in two home fixtures within a month, the first against Burnley on 18 February 2018 and the second against West Ham. After that, it looked like the club was comfortable in mid-table, however with not much impact in the attacking point of view, the club struggled and Ki could not prevent them from Premier League relegation which was confirmed on the final day. After the relegation, Ki announced his departure shortly after the season finished.
Newcastle United