Son Heung-min

Early life

Son Heung-min was born in Chuncheon, South Korea. He is of the Miryang Son clan. His father, Son Woong-jung, is a retired footballer turned manager who once played for the South Korea national B team.

Son came through the academy at FC Seoul, the same club that former Spurs defender Lee Young-pyo played for. Son was a ball boy in an FC Seoul home match in 2008 when he was a FC Seoul youth player. At that time, his role model was midfielder Lee Chung-yong, who played for Crystal Palace and Bolton Wanderers. Apart from his native language Korean, Son is also fluent in German and English. His agent Thies Bliemeister said Son was so determined to succeed in Europe that he learned German by watching episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Club career

Hamburger SV

In August 2008, Son dropped out of Dongbuk High School's football club (formerly FC Seoul under-18 team) and joined Hamburger SV's youth academy at age 16 through the Korean FA Youth Project. A year later, he returned to South Korea. After participating in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, he formally joined Hamburger SV's youth academy in November 2009.

He was impressive in the 2010–11 pre-season, leading the team with nine goals, and signed his first professional contract on his 18th birthday. After scoring against Chelsea in August, he was out for two months due to a foot injury. He returned on 30 October 2010 to score his first league goal, against 1. FC Köln in the 24th minute. The goal made Son the youngest Hamburg player to score a goal in the Bundesliga at 18, breaking the record held by Manfred Kaltz.

Son signed a new deal with Hamburg through 2014. Pundits said he had what it took to become the next Cha Bum-kun, a legendary Bundesliga forward and fellow South Korean. Son scored three goals in 14 matches in all competition during the 2010–11 season.

During the 2011–12 pre-season, Son was explosive, scoring 18 times in only nine matches. After missing the opening match due to a fever, Son scored two goals within three matches. On 27 August, Son picked up an ankle injury in the 4–3 loss to 1. FC Köln and was initially projected to be out of action for four to six weeks. His recovery was quicker than expected and he returned to action only three weeks later as a substitute in a 1–0 loss against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 17 September. Over the course of the 2011–12 season, he made 30 appearances for Hamburg and scored five goals, including crucial goals against Hannover 96 and 1. FC Nürnberg at the end of the season to help ensure that Hamburg remained in the Bundesliga.

Following Hamburger SV's 2012–13 offseason moves, which saw the transfers of the team's strikers Mladen Petrić and Paolo Guerrero to Fulham and Corinthians respectively, manager Thorsten Fink chose to name Son a starter. The 2012–13 season was a breakthrough season for Son as he scored two goals in an away fixture against Borussia Dortmund on 9 February 2013, helping his team to a 4–1 victory. Son was chosen Mann des Tages (Man of the Match) by kicker. On 14 April, Son netted two goals in a 2–1 win against Mainz 05. He finished the season with 12 goals, becoming the fifth South Korean footballer to achieve double digits in goals in Europe. He finished the 2012–13 season with 12 goals in 34 matches in all competitions.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 13 June 2013, Bayer Leverkusen confirmed Son's transfer for reportedly €10 million, which was the highest transfer fee in the club's history at the time. He agreed to a five-year deal with the team. Son adjusted quickly to his new club in the pre-season, scoring three goals in his first three appearances for the team in exhibition matches (against 1860 Munich, Udinese and KAS Eupen respectively).

On 9 November 2013, Son scored a hat-trick for Leverkusen in a 5–3 win against his former club Hamburger SV. On 7 December, Son scored a crucial goal against Borussia Dortmund to put his club just four points off the summit of the Bundesliga. On 10 May 2014, Son scored another goal against Werder Bremen ensuring his team a spot for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League. He finished the 2013–14 season with 12 goals in 43 matches.

Son scored a hat-trick against VfL Wolfsburg on 14 February 2015, in a 4–5 defeat, scoring when they were losing 0–3. He finished the 2014–15 season with 17 goals in 42 matches.

Despite that productive season, Son's future at Leverkusen became uncertain during the opening weeks of 2015–16 amid negotiations over a move to Tottenham Hotspur. His father, Son Woong-jung, said that they had initially expected him to remain for another one or two seasons but reconsidered because of his increased defensive responsibilities, early substitutions and growing competition for his position. Sporting director Rudi Völler similarly suggested that Son might have become dissatisfied with his status after a difficult start to the season and increased competition for his position. The timing of the move caused friction: although Leverkusen authorised Son to undergo a medical in London, he was absent while the club prepared for the decisive second leg of its UEFA Champions League play-off against Lazio, and Roger Schmidt and Hakan Çalhanoğlu said that he had been poorly advised. Son and his agent denied that he had fallen out with Schmidt or acted without permission, saying that Son himself wanted to join Tottenham and that the final decision was made jointly with his father and agent. In 2022, his father recalled that, after a third round of negotiations broke down, he ran to intercept Leverkusen staff and persuaded them to reopen talks in London.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 28 August 2015, Son joined Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for £22 million (€30 million) on a five-year contract, subject to work permit and international clearance. Upon his signing, he became the most expensive Asian player in football history. The record had been held since 2001 by Japanese Hidetoshi Nakata, who transferred from Roma to Parma for €25 million.

Son made his debut on 13 September away to Sunderland, being replaced by Andros Townsend in the 62nd minute of a 1–0 win. In Tottenham's first match of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League on 17 September, Son netted his first two goals for the club in a 3–1 win against Qarabağ FK. Three days later, he scored his first Premier League goal, against Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane, netting in the 68th minute to give Tottenham their first home Premier League win of the season. On 28 December in the match against Watford, Son replaced Tom Carroll in the 80th minute and scored Tottenham's winning goal in the 89th minute. On 2 May, he scored the second goal against Chelsea in a crucial match to give Spurs hope of winning the Premier League. Chelsea equalised in the second half, however, handing over the title to Leicester City.

Before the season, he reportedly asked Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino for permission to leave Tottenham in an attempt to get more playing time, but was instead given a chance to fight for his place at Spurs. On 10 September 2016, Son scored two goals and created a third in his first appearance of the season, in a 4–0 win against Stoke City. Son followed that performance up with a second brace, coming at Middlesbrough on 24 September, earning his team a 1–2 victory. Upon equalling his league goal total from the previous season in 25 fewer matches, Son was hailed by Pochettino as "a different person – he's more mature and he knows the league and he's settled in fantastically now." Son continued his excellent run of form with his fifth goal in five matches on 27 September in the Champions League. Playing at CSKA Moscow, Son slipped a shot past goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev for the only goal of the match. On 14 October, Son was named the Premier League Player of the Month for September, being the first South Korean and first Asian to receive the award.

Following the Christmas break Son continued to score the odd goal over the following couple of months and then on 12 March 2017 he scored his first Spurs hat trick in the FA Cup against Millwall in a 6–0 win. In the same match, he was racially abused by a section of the Millwall fans who chanted "DVD" and "he's selling three for a fiver" whenever he touched the ball, referencing a stereotype towards east Asians. He scored in the 2–0 victory away at Burnley on 1 April 2017, and four days later he scored in the 91st minute to put Spurs ahead at Swansea, in a game where they were losing 1–0 after 88 minutes and ended up winning 3–1. A brace at home to Watford the following weekend brought his season total to 18 goals, 11 in the Premier League, his best ever goals return. On 12 May 2017, Tottenham announced that Son had won the Premier League Player of the Month for April, the second time of his career and thus becoming the only player in 2016–17 to win the award 2 times. On 18 May 2017, Son bagged a brace away to Leicester City as part of a 6–1 rout of their former title rivals. With 21 goals in all competitions, Son joined Harry Kane and Dele Alli as the first trio of Spurs players with over 20 goals on the season.

Los Angeles FC

On 6 August 2025, Son moved to Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC in a deal worth $26.5 million, an MLS record, departing Tottenham Hotspur after 10 years. His signing made Son become just the second South Korean player in the club's history, the other being Kim Moon-hwan. On 23 August, Son scored his first goal for LAFC by converting a free kick in a 1–1 draw with FC Dallas. On 17 September, Son scored his first hat-trick for LAFC to help lead the team to a 4–1 away win at Real Salt Lake. On 27 October, Son's first goal for LAFC, which he scored against FC Dallas, was voted the MLS Goal of the Year.

International career

2009–2014: Youth level and first major tournaments

Son was a member of the South Korea national team that participated at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria.

On 24 December 2010, Son was named in South Korea national team's squad for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, making his debut for the national team in a pre-tournament friendly against Syria on 30 December. At the tournament finals, Son scored his first international goal during a 4–1 group stage win against India.

On 7 October 2011, after initially missing the first two matches of South Korea's 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign on 2 and 6 September 2011 due to an ankle injury, Son played in a friendly against Poland, and was again featured in 11 October World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates. His selection for national team play was a point of concern for Son's father, however, who caused a stir by asking the Korea Football Association not to select his son for the national team in the immediate future so he can rest and mature more as a player. Cho Kwang-rae, then the South Korea head coach, responded by saying that he would continue to call up Son when needed.

Son turned down the opportunity to participate in the 2012 London Olympics, opting to concentrate on his club career at Hamburger SV. Son was quoted as saying, "In Korea, an Olympic appearance has a special meaning, but I want to speed up for Hamburg. What matters is to pour all my time into team training." Son did, however, play for the national team in the autumn of 2012 for two 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon and Iran, and became a regular call-up in friendlies and World Cup qualifying matches in 2013. In the World Cup qualifier against Qatar on 23 March 2013, Son came on as a substitute in the 81st minute and scored the winning goal in the 96th minute.

In June 2014, Son was named in South Korea's squad for the 2014 World Cup. On 22 June, he scored in a 4–2 defeat to Algeria in the team's second group match. The Korea Football Association requested Bayer Leverkusen to allow Son to play in the 2014 Asian Games, as winning the gold medal at the tournament would grant Son exemption from military service. Despite Son affirming his interest and the KFA's efforts, Bayer Leverkusen refused to release him, as his absence would mean the team would lose him for at least six matches.

2015–2018: Asian Cup runner-up and Asian Games gold

Son was selected for South Korea for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia. At the quarter-final stage, he scored both of the team's goals in the 2–0 extra time defeat of Uzbekistan. In the final against the hosts, managed by future manager Ange Postecoglou, he levelled the scoring in added time, but his team lost 2–1 after extra time. He was chosen as one of three forwards in the competition's Team of the Tournament.

In June 2016, Son was named as one of the three overage players in South Korea under-23 squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Son amassed two goals in the group stages with one against Fiji and another against Germany, helping his team top the group with two wins and a draw. However, South Korea was later eliminated by Honduras in the Quarterfinals, with Son missing crucial chances.

On 3 September 2015 at the Hwaseong Stadium, Son scored a hat-trick in an 8–0 home win over Laos in the second round of qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

On 13 June 2017, Son broke his right forearm after falling awkwardly on his arm during a World Cup qualifier match in Doha against Qatar. He was part of the team that saw Korea qualify for the 2018 World Cup after a 0–0 draw against Uzbekistan on 5 September 2017. On 4 June 2018, Son was selected in the 23-man squad for the World Cup. On 23 June, Son scored a goal from outside the box – a curling strike into the top corner – though his side was defeated with a 2–1 loss to Mexico in their second group stage match of the World Cup, eliminating Korea. On 27 June, during their final group stage match, he scored the second goal in the 97th minute in their 2–0 victory over reigning world champions Germany, sealing their elimination.

Son was selected as one of three overage players permitted in the under-23 team for the football tournament at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. He captained the team in the final game of the group stage against Kyrgyzstan, scoring the only goal of the match to help the team reach the knockout rounds. He also captained the team in the knockout rounds and reached the final after the Taeguk Warriors beat Vietnam, 3–1. In the gold medal match, Son assisted in both extra-time goals in a 2–1 victory over Japan, which guaranteed the entire squad's exemption from his country's mandatory military service.

2019–present: Assuming the captaincy

Son was called up as captain for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates by Paulo Bento, but missed the first two group matches due to an agreement with Tottenham Hotspur related to his call-up. His play at the tournament was generally lethargic without a goal. He contributed to South Korea's both goals by providing an assist and winning a penalty in a 2–0 win over China. In contrast with the good start, he made one successful dribble (out of seven attempts) and one shot on target in the knockout rounds against Bahrain and Qatar. He returned to London after a 1–0 defeat to eventual champion Qatar in the quarter-finals.

Despite still recovering from an eye injury, in October 2022, Son was named to lead the 26-man South Korean squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Due to the tenderness of his injury, Son wore a mask that covered nearly half his face. Son failed to score a goal for his nation's group stage matches, but successfully led South Korea to the round of 16, for the first time since 2010, following a match winning assist to Hwang Hee-chan in a shock 2–1 victory against Portugal on 2 December, before being eliminated by Brazil following a 4–1 defeat on 5 December.

Son was called up under manager Jürgen Klinsmann in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. He won a penalty and converted it into the opening goal in the second group stage match against Jordan, which ended in a 2–2 draw. He scored South Korea's first penalty, contributing to a 4–2 penalty shoot-out win over Saudi Arabia in the round of 16. His best performance in the competition came in a 2–1 quarter-final win over Australia, where he won a crucial penalty during the second half of stoppage time and scored the winning goal with a free-kick in the first half of extra time. South Korea once again met Jordan in the semi-finals but lost 2–0. The Korea Football Association later confirmed that, on the eve of the semi-final, Son had become involved in an altercation with Lee Kang-in after Lee and several younger teammates left a team dinner early to play table tennis. Son dislocated a finger as players separated them and played against Jordan with two fingers strapped. Amid intense public criticism of Lee in South Korea, Lee later travelled to London to apologise to Son in person. Son accepted the apology, acknowledged that he was not proud of his own conduct, and asked supporters to forgive Lee.

On 9 September 2025, Son started against Mexico in an international friendly at Geodis Park in Nashville, joining Hong Myung-bo and Cha Bum-kun as the most capped player for the South Korean national team with 136 appearances.

Style of play

Son is a versatile player who can play in any forward position, (winger, second striker, striker) and can even be deployed as an attacking midfielder or wing-back if necessary. He himself has confirmed this, saying, "I don't care where I play. The main thing is I'm in the game. I can play as a second striker or behind. Whatever the coach says, I'll do. I don't have a favorite position. I'll be anywhere and always on the throttle."

Son is known for his two-footed ability, explosive pace, positional sense, movement, close control and clinical finishing which make him especially effective on the counter-attack. Moreover, he has drawn praise from teammates and in the media for his selfless work-rate and defensive contribution, and is capable of providing assists for teammates, in addition to scoring goals himself. In a 2021 interview, Sir Alex Ferguson mentioned Son as a player that he wished he could have managed, calling him and then-teammate Harry Kane "excellent players".

Sponsorship and media

Son has a sponsorship deal with sportswear and equipment supplier Adidas. Since 2022, he has been a brand ambassador for British luxury fashion house Burberry. In March 2023, Son was named as the global face of the Burberry's first campaign under its new chief creative officer Daniel Lee along with Georgia May Jagger.

In February 2022, Son was selected as brand ambassador for American high-end luggage brand Tumi. In February 2024, he was upgraded to become a global ambassador for Tumi and appeared on its global campaign with the new TUMI 19 Degree Aluminum collection. On 7 August 2022, Son was named brand ambassador for Calvin Klein Underwear in South Korea.

Son has two officially licensed NFT collections that have been released in collaboration with NFTStar (a sports fandom social platform with a web3 community) that are available for purchase on OpenSea. His first NFT collection is called the 'NFTStar Fan Pass – Son Heung Min', and the second NFT collection called 'Golden Shiny Boot' was a free mint project available for fan pass holders.

Son has a Fortnite outfit.

Personal life

In 2018, Son opened Son Football Academy in his hometown Chuncheon with his father and his brother, at a cost of £11 million, most of it funded by Son himself.

In 2019, Son donated around £100,000 to the victims of the Goseong Fire, which left vast devastation in Goseong County, Gangwon, in his native South Korea. In 2020, Son donated £65,000 in aid, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.

Son used the suspension of football during the COVID-19 pandemic to complete South Korean mandatory military service. He was exempted from military service with a gold medal at the Asian Games, but he had to do basic military training regardless of exemption. He completed basic training in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps in Jeju in April–May 2020, finishing in the top five of 157 trainees.

As a South Korean player, Son has suffered racist abuse from fans during games and online. He is part of UEFA's Real Scars campaign, which seeks to raise awareness of online abuse and harassment of football players.

In 2025, a woman was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison by a court in Seoul for falsely accusing Son of fathering her child and blackmailing him into providing $300 million won ($200,000) in exchange for her silence.

On 27 August 2025, Son threw the first pitch for the Major League Baseball team Los Angeles Dodgers to kick-off their game against the Cincinnati Reds.

Son is godfather to the children of his former Spurs team-mate Ben Davies.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 September 2026

International

As of match played 24 June 2026

As of match played 14 November 2025

Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Son goal.

Honours

Tottenham Hotspur

UEFA Europa League: 2024–25

EFL Cup runner-up: 2020–21

UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2018–19

South Korea U17

AFC U-16 Championship runner-up: 2008

South Korea U23

Asian Games: 2018

South Korea

AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 2015

Individual

FIFA Puskás Award: 2020

Best Footballer in Asia: 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025

AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2015, 2023

AFC Asian International Player of the Year: 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023

AFC Opta All-time XI at the FIFA World Cup: 2020

AFC Fans' All-time XI at the FIFA World Cup: 2020

AFC Asian Cup All-time XI: 2023

The Asian Awards Outstanding Achievement in Sports: 2016

AIPS Asia Best Asian Male Athlete: 2018

IFFHS Asian Men's Player of the Year: 2020, 2021, 2022