NORTH KOREAN striker Han Kwang-song has left Juventus without making a single appearance to join Qatari side Al-Duhail.
Han leaving Turin spells the end for an unconventional link between the rogue Asian state and one of the powerhouses of European football.
Han (right) battles with Spurs’ forward Son Heung-min (left) in October’s World Cup qualifierCredit: AFP
Juventus signed the player for around £4.25million in the summer but he never played for the first-team, only appearing on the bench twice.
The majority of his time was spent in the Under-23s, where he failed to score in 17 appearances at the third-tier Serie C level.
And it has been confirmed that Al-Duhail have snapped up Han, having also signed Mario Mandzukic and Medhi Benatia from the Italian champions.
The forward first arrived in Europe with Sardinian club Cagliari, going on to become the first-ever North Korean to play and score in Serie A, in April 2017.
A couple of loan spells with Perugia in the division below reaped some success before Juve took the plunge.
The deal leaves just a handful of North Korean footballers playing in Europe.
Austrian football hosts forward Pak Kwang-ryong, who plays for Bundesliga side St Polten, while Choe Song-hyok turns out for Italian outfit Arezzo.
The midfielder made history when signing for Fiorentina in 2016, as the first player from his country to appear in Italian football at any level.
But the Florence side released him only four months into his stay after concerns were raised over his contract – even being discussed in the Italian parliament.
It was alleged Choe was sending 70 per cent of his wages back to the totalitarian North Korean regime.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
