Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – 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. The 33-year-old will reportedly cost an MLS record $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 signing. “It was just, like, insane,” he said. “I just wanted to run onto the pitch and show my performance.”
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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…a new challenge”. Thorrington declined to discuss the reported terms of the deal, which would surpass the $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. “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,” added Huh, who has already bought match tickets to watch Son. Huh thinks Son can have the same kind of impact that the 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,” Lee said. “Koreatown is for everyone so Son is for everyone. He’s one of the important players in the world,” said Lee, adding that the group’s social media following was increasing and membership was rising already.
– Lloris reunion – 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. He said speaking with Lloris also helped him make up his mind about the move, which coincidentally will allow him to familiarize himself with life in the United States as South Korea prepares to compete in the 2026 World Cup hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Son looked relaxed as he met the press wearing understated grey and black, and after taking questions posed for pictures with his new black and gold number seven LAFC jersey. Los Angeles are currently sixth in the MLS Western Conference standings, 10 points behind leaders San Diego but with three games in hand.
© 2024 AFP
