Son Heung-min has deal to join Los Angeles from Tottenham Hotspur, reports say
Advertisement
LAFC will pay a transfer fee of around US$26 million for the Spurs and South Korea captain, GiveMeSport and ESPN reported, which would break the Major League Soccer record of US$22 million that Atlanta United paid to acquire Emmanuel Latte Lath in the last off-season.
Son, 33, announced over the weekend that he planned to leave Tottenham, saying he achieved everything that he could with the North London club and he was interested in a new challenge.
Tottenham faced Newcastle United in a friendly in Seoul on Sunday, which served as Son's farewell match. He received a standing ovation and a guard of honour and said he had 'a huge respect and am very grateful' to his old club.
Tottenham captain Son Heung-min raises the Europa League trophy in May. Photo: AFP
Son scored 172 goals and added 94 assists in 451 matches for Tottenham across all competitions, with 127 coming in the English Premier League. He helped Spurs win the Europa League in May to collect the first major trophy of his career.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Shohei Ohtani the third Japanese-born player to reach 1,000 hits in MLB
Shohei Ohtani notched the 1,000th hit of his Major League Baseball career in impressive style on Wednesday, with a two-run homer as part of an impressive two-day display that could not get the Los Angeles Dodgers past St. Louis. In his starting pitcher's role, Ohtani struck out eight and allowed just two infield singles in four dominant innings. And at the plate he notched his milestone homer in the third inning, a two-run blast that put Los Angeles up 2-1. It was his 39th home run of the season, one behind National League leader Kyle Schwarber and three behind MLB leader Cal Raleigh. The Dodgers could not hold on to their early lead, however, as the Cardinals rallied for a 5-3 victory at Dodger Stadium. But Ohtani joined newly minted Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui as the only Japanese-born players to reach 1,000 hits in the major leagues. Ichiro finished his career with 3,089 and Matsui with 1,253.
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Son Heung-min presented at LAFC after joining from Tottenham: ‘not my first choice'
South Korea star Son Heung-min said he was 'here to win' on Wednesday as Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC welcomed the arrival of the 'global icon' from Tottenham. Advertisement The 33-year-old will reportedly cost a widely reported MLS record US$26 million (HK$204 million) transfer fee after a decade in the 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 United States and South Korean media, fans and luminaries, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. He 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 Tuesday night amid rabid 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.' Son Heung-min meets LAFC fans at the club's BMO Stadium. Photo: AFP An emotional Son announced on Saturday in his homeland that he would be leaving Spurs, just months after ending the club's 17-year trophy drought by lifting the Europa League as captain.
RTHK
11 hours ago
- RTHK
Son Heung-min officially joins LAFC from Tottenham
Son Heung-min officially joins LAFC from Tottenham South Korean star Son Heung-min is officially donning black and gold after joining Los Angeles FC. Photo: Reuters 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. The 33-year-old will reportedly cost an MLS record US$26 million transfer fee, according to ESPN and The Athletic, after a decade in the 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. He 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 Tuesday night amid rabid support from fans energized by rumors of his imminent arrival. "It was just, like, insane," he said. "I just wanted to run onto the pitch and show my performance." An emotional Son announced on Saturday in his homeland 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 goalscorer 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 first call, 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 said that in departing Tottenham after a decade in which he "gave it all" he felt like he needed "a new chapter, 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. But he said he'd had his eye on Son for years, believing his mix of charisma and humility are "what we aspire to be." In addition to Son's prowess on the pitch, LAFC can also expect him to be a massive draw among Los Angeles's large community of Koreans and Korean-Americans. His imminent arrival drew crowds on Tuesday to Los Angeles International Airport with fans waving South Korean flags and messages of support. (AFP)
