Son Heung-Min Has Last Dance In Seoul As Tottenham Hotspur Exit Looms

Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min at a press conference in Seoul on August 2, ahead of the friendly match against Newcastle United. (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

In a non-descript meeting room above a mall in the heart of Seoul’s financial district, Son Heung-min announced on Saturday what many had been expecting, that he would leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

His next destination: likely Major League Soccer and LAFC.

Even before Son’s announcement, there had been rumors that he would leave Spurs after Tottenham’s tour of Asia. There was even speculation in the local media that he would’ve already left Spurs if not for contract obligations that required Son to play in the friendly match against Newcastle United in Seoul on Sunday.

Spurs In Seoul

That game is Spurs’ fifth game in South Korea in the past four years.

Those tours have proved highly lucrative, with the tours’ sponsor Coupang, Korea’s answer to Amazon, using them to launch its streaming service and this year, its ‘Sports Pass’ add-on after it acquired the rights to broadcast Premier League matches for the upcoming season.

On Sunday, the Seoul World Cup Stadium, kitted out in Coupang’s blue and white logos, was a sea of Tottenham shirts by the time Spurs players entered the pitch for their warm-up 40 minutes before kick off.

When Spurs arrived in Korea, they were met at the airport by crowds of fans. Not just Sonny, but other Spurs players have grown in popularity in Korea on the back of all these visits. One fan, crying uncontrollably, even presented James Maddison with a large painted portrait. Many of these fans will be Spurs fans for life, but there will inevitably be a bit of a drop off in interest from South Koreans once Son leaves. The question for Spurs’ marketing department now will be how big that drop off will be. Will Spurs without Son visit Seoul next summer?

The stooges for this year’s game, Newcastle United, clearly don’t have the same pull as Spurs in South Korea. Newcastle’s match in Suwon against an all-star team from the local K-League earlier in the week attracted just 27,000 fans. Even a half time concert by K-pop stars IVE couldn’t draw fans to watch the match against two teams seemingly cobbled together at the last minute.

Newcastle’s pre-season has been defined by the transfer saga surrounding Alexander Isak. Head coach Eddie Howe on Saturday, in between calling Son “one of the legends of the Premier League” and answering questions on other Korean soccer players, batted away questions about Isak and his whereabouts.

While losing Isak would massively weaken Newcastle, Spurs head coach Thomas Frank also has to plan for life without Son Heung-min, although this could allow Frank to rebuild Spurs more in his own image.

Son Heung-min’s Last Dance

It only took three minutes of the match against Newcastle before fans saw Son’s trademark camera square celebration. But it was Brennan Johnson who got the goal. Son Heung-min missed a good chance a few minutes later and had a shot blocked after a breakaway attack later in the first half. Newcastle equalized shortly afterward.

Son Heung-min was substituted on 63 minutes, receiving a standing ovation and getting a guard of honor from the players on the pitch before hugging all the members of the Spurs bench as the crowd chanted his name. Son was replaced by Tottenham’s biggest signing of the summer so far, Mohammed Kudus.

The match finished 1-1.

Leaving As A Legend

After captaining Spurs to Europa League glory last season, Son Heung-min goes out on a high, but he also leaves Spurs just as his ability to change games is starting to wane. Son’s seven Premier league goals last season was the first time he has failed to score ten league goals since his first season in north London.

Injuries and Spurs’ awful form are a large part of the reason for that, but it would be foolish to expect Son to be able to hit the heights of 2018 to 2022 again with Spurs next season. Now does feel like the right time for Son to leave Spurs as “a legend” and start the next chapter of his career.