‘Global icon’ Son Heung-min joins LAFC from Tottenham Hotspur

LOS ANGELES – South Korea star Son Heung-min said he was “here to win” as Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC welcomed the arrival of the “global icon” from Tottenham Hotspur on Aug 6.

The 33-year-old’s two-year contract with an option for two more will reportedly cost LAFC an MLS record US$26 million (S$33.4 million), according to ESPN and The Athletic, after a decade in the English Premier League where he became a household name.

“I’m here to win, and I will perform,” he said at an introductory press conference at BMO Stadium that was packed with US and South Korean media, fans and luminaries, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Son was already itching to get to work with his new teammates, after watching them beat Mexican club Tigres UANL 2-1 in a Leagues Cup match on Aug 5 amid support from fans energised by rumours of his signing.

“It was just, like, insane,” he said. “I just wanted to run onto the pitch and show my performance.”

An emotional Son announced on Aug 2 in Seoul that he would be leaving Spurs, just months after ending the club’s 17-year trophy drought by lifting the Europa League as captain.

He leaves as Tottenham’s fifth-highest scorer of all time with 173 goals in 454 appearances.

“Sonny is a global icon and one of the most dynamic and accomplished players in world football,” said LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington.

“We are proud that he has chosen Los Angeles for the next chapter of his extraordinary career.”

Son said it was Thorrington who sold him on LAFC.

“If I’m honest, it was not my first choice,” he said. “But when I talked to John after the season finished, he just changed my mind.

“He changed my heart. He changed my brain. He showed me the destination where I should be.”

Son also said that in departing Tottenham after a decade in which he “gave it all”, he felt like he needed “a new chapter and a new challenge”.

Thorrington declined to discuss the reported terms of the deal, which would surpass the US$22 million Atlanta United FC spent in February to acquire the rights to forward Emmanuel Latte Lath.

In addition to Son’s prowess on the pitch, LAFC can also expect him to be a massive draw among the city’s large community of South Koreans and Korean-Americans.

His imminent arrival drew crowds on Aug 5 to Los Angeles International Airport with fans waving South Korean flags and messages of support.

“He means a lot to me, just what he’s been able to achieve,” said Justin Huh, a 26-year-old Korean-American software developer who lives in LA’s bustling Koreatown.

“Now that someone who is Korean like me is here, and he’s going to have a cultural impact, I just want to be part of that wave.”

Huh thinks Son can have the same kind of impact that the LA Dodgers’ Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani has had in baseball.

Josh Lee, co-president of the Tigers Supporters Group based in Koreatown, said Son is a player for all fans to cherish.

“Son’s arrival here is not only big for Korean people,” he said. “Koreatown is for everyone, so Son is for everyone. He’s one of the important players in the world.”

Son will replace French striker Olivier Giroud, who was sold to Lille in July, and will share a dressing room with French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, his former teammate at Tottenham.

“He’s back to my captain, so I have to say something nice about him because otherwise in the locker room he’s gonna kill me,” Son quipped of Lloris, adding that he was delighted to be reuniting with a teammate he called an amazing player and an amazing human being.

Speaking with Lloris also helped him make up his mind about the move, which coincidentally will allow him to familiarise himself with life in the United States as South Korea prepare to compete in the 2026 World Cup hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada.

Son looked relaxed as he met the press, and after taking questions, posed for pictures with his new black and gold No. 7 LAFC jersey as a new chapter begins for the superstar. AFP