Son Heung-min personally admitted that he will leave the team this summer and ended his 10-year career as Tottenham. According to British media Football.London's Tottenham Hotspur team reporter Alasdair Gold, the decision was not made at a meeting, but in the Europa League final on the evening of May 21, when Son Heung-min knelt on the turf of the St. Mames Stadium, that moment he decided that he would leave Tottenham. Players have been eager for new challenges for some time, and this trophy has put the perfect end to his 10-year Tottenham career.
Frank took over as Tottenham head coach in June and called all senior players to find out what they think of the club. Son Heung-min was the only player who took the initiative to call and told him that he wanted to leave the club, and Frank might have expected this. And for most of last season, there was a feeling within the club that Son Heung-min had made up his mind to embark on a new journey.
Spurs have exercised the option of extending the contract for one year to ensure that some compensation will be received from his transfer this summer. But since then, the club believes that Son Heung-min has paid too much for the team both on and off the court, and the 33-year-old veteran should choose his future direction. Negotiations between Los Angeles FC and Tottenham have made progress during the game against Arsenal and continued on their way to South Korea.
After the negotiations reached a certain stage, Son Heung-min felt relieved enough and began to reveal his decision to other teammates. His close friends have long known what is coming, and Son Heung-min and his best friend are Ben Davis have been discussing the topic of the future for months, because they are all in the same situation. Ben Davis' contract was also extended by Tottenham for a year, and it seems that he will continue to stay in North London.
Son Heung-min finally announced the matter at a South Korean press conference after making sure that his friends knew about his decision before announcing it. A few months ago, some Tottenham teammates and coaching staff members had a premonition that Son Heung-min would change this summer. Despite his wholehearted commitment to ensure he succeeded in his last season here, the closest people were aware of subtle changes, even if it was just a little different in the way things were viewed.
Injuries affected Son Heung-min's performance in his last season. He often played with injuries, but he still kept motivating the team to move forward, even if his contributions did not reach the height he expected. There is a misunderstanding that Son Heung-min is not a captain who is good at speaking, but is more like leading everyone through actions. In fact, Son Heung-min is a good communication person, and the locker room says that his biggest advantage as a captain is his ability to unite the team.
Sun Heung-min cared about everyone very much. Over the years, there have been some split small groups and deeper conflicts in Tottenham, but during Son Heung-min's role as captain, the team's cohesion reached its highest point since the Pochettino era. He is easy to get along with everyone among the team's Spanish, French and English schools. He is a legend and friend of everyone, and everyone is naturally united by his leader.
Especially in the critical moments of the last few months, Son Heung-min played a huge role, helping young players concentrate, even if he was unable to play due to a foot injury and could only watch the game on the sidelines. Without the close unity of brothers, they would not have been able to win the Europa League title. Although Son Heung-min's departure made his teammates feel disappointed, and the team lost a locker room pistachio and top player, they were also happy that he could experience something new.
After spending 10 years in the same place, a change of environment would be perfect for him. Going to the FA League is an ideal choice, and he can continue to stay in the spotlight and share his best moments while reducing the negative impact of age. There, he will feel refreshed and be ready for next year's World Cup. The weekend's match against Newcastle is likely to be Son Heung-min's last game at Tottenham, which has a wonderful poetry, and a grand farewell to the 66,000 fans of the motherland at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. It reminds people of the thoughts of relief, pride, and knowing that he would leave a better Tottenham than when he first came. After 454 appearances, 173 goals and 101 assists, Son Heung-min led the team to win the European championship and ended the trophy drought, and his mission has been completed.