million option to sign Ahn on a permanent basis. Ahn rejected the offer of a three-year contract and refused to turn up for pre-season training despite Perugia claiming ownership of his registration, saying "I will no longer discuss my transfer to Perugia, who attacked my character instead of congratulating me for a goal in the World Cup." Busan Daewoo Royals also claimed that they had not been paid by Perugia. A number of European clubs were interested in Ahn, but gave up on him due to his conflict with Perugia. Finally, FIFA forced Perugia's hand by concluding Ahn had to pay Perugia $3.5 million to compensate for their damage in the transfer market, and so he contracted with a Japanese entertainment company, the Professional Management (PM), to pay off his debts. He spent his important period as a J1 League player and an entertainer for three years. MSV Duisburg After a successful spell in Japan, Ahn returned to Europe to play for French Ligue 1 team Metz in July 2005 and scored two goals in 16 outings. In January 2006, Ahn was invited to train with Blackburn Rovers but twice failed to show up, one of the dates being his birthday. In February, he secured a 17-month deal with a Bundesliga club MSV Duisburg to adapt to the environment of Germany, the host of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Ahn scored two goals in 12 outings, and his club was relegated from the Bundesliga. He was interested in a move to Heart of Midlothian of the Scottish Premier League, but it fell through. Ahn was selected for the South Korean squad for the 2006 World Cup. He scored the winning goal after coming off the bench during the second half of the South Korean opening match, where they beat Togo 2–1. Thus, he became the Asian all-time scoring leader at the World Cup with three goals. He was released by Duisburg after the World Cup, and returned to South Korea, joining Suwon Samsung Bluewings on a one-year deal in January 2007. Retirement Ahn scored a hat-trick in a game of the 2007 Korean League Cup against Daejeon Citizen. However, his poor performance became longer, and he was left out of the national team for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. In 2008, Ahn returned to Busan IPark, formerly Busan Daewoo Royals. He steadily improved his game and overall performances and, for