Yoo Byung-soo

Yoo Byung-Soo (; born 26 March 1988) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a striker.

He has been nicknamed the "Ronaldo of Wolmido", because of his spinless free-kick that resembles that of Cristiano Ronaldo's. Wolmido is a small park in Incheon city, where he started his professional career.

Club career

Youth career Yoo entered Dunchun Middle School, scoring at least one goal in nearly every match he played in. Then he entered Unnam High School, winning the top scorer award in a couple of national competitions. After graduating from high school, he decided to enter Hong-Ik University, winning the top assists award in National University Competition. Thus having grabbed the attention of many scouts, he joined K-League side Incheon United.

Incheon United In the pre-season, Incheon sold its franchise star striker Bang Seung-Hwan to Jeju United. This transfer worried many Incheon fans as they had already sold another striker Dženan Radončić to Seongnam Ilhwa. However, Incheon's newly appointed manager Ilija Petković said that Yoo Byung-Soo could be the replacement, and he can develop into a new franchise star for Incheon.

On 3 March 2009, Yoo scored in his senior debut match against Busan I'Park. In his debut season in K-League, he was widely regarded as one of the best candidates for the Rookie of the Season award but eventually Gangwon FC's forward Kim Young-Hoo grabbed the award. In November 2009, he was linked with Premier League side Bolton Wanderers.

In the 2010 K-League season, he scored 22 goals in 28 appearances, and was named 2010 K-League top scorer, Yoo signed a contract extension with Incheon United, running until 2013.

Al Hilal In July 2011, Yoo signed a new contract with the Asian club of the century, Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, running until 2014. He scored a total of 16 goals while playing 44 league matches in two seasons for the Riyadh-based team.

Rostov On 22 June 2013, Al Hilal announced that Yoo had agreed on a transfer to a Russian Premier League side FC Rostov.

Return to Korea In 2017, Yoo joined Gimpo Citizen FC for public service work. During August 2018, Yoo spent time on trial with A-League side Wellington Phoenix; scoring in a 5–0 friendly victory over Napier City Rovers on 24 August.

In 2019, Yoo signed with K3 League team Hwaseong.

Yoo played in Thailand from 2020 to 2024.

In 2024, Yoo returned to Hwaseong, but shortly after he was diagnosed with blood cancer and did not play for a year undergoing therapy. He announced that he was cancer-free in August 2025 and returned to the field in October.

International career On 3 June 2009, Yoo played his first senior game for the South Korea national team against Oman, as a second-half substitute.

He was selected to take part in the Asian Cup 2011 in Qatar.

Career statistics

Honours Al-Hilal Crown Prince Cup: 2011–12, 2012–13

Rostov Russian Cup: 2013–14