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LAFC introduces Korean superstar Son Heung-min – San Bernardino Sun

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Mayor Karen Bass gives Korean superstar Son Heung-min a certificate of recognition during a press conference as he signs the most expensive transfer fee in MLS history at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

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LOS ANGELES — The seeds were planted with global ambitions, a World Cup goal and a sombrero.

Korean superstar Son Heung-min — introduced as the Los Angeles Football Club’s most expensive signing on Wednesday during a joyous reception at BMO Stadium featuring a proclamation from Mayor Karen Bass in front of a throng of press interested in the next chapter of his stellar footballing career — smiled widely as he recalled the earliest inkling of a potential move here.

During a preseason tour to the United States in 2018 with Tottenham Hotspur FC, the north London team for which Son put in a decade of brilliant play that ended last week, a surprise visit brought him face-to-face with LAFC supporters for the first time.

A month earlier, Son had been in Russia with the South Korean national team for the FIFA World Cup. Though they would not make it out of the group stage, a stunning 2-0 upset over Germany, highlighted by Son’s stoppage-time goal, ensured that Mexico, featuring first-year LAFC star Carlos Vela, would advance to the knockout stage.

That result quickly made Son a cult hero among Mexican fans, including those belonging to LAFC’s very new independent supporters group at the time, the 3252, who placed a large, pink sombrero on his head while he met with them and shocked members of the club’s Koreatown-based Tigers Supporters Group.

Son fondly recalled when he learned that LAFC had Korean supporters.

“This is the relationship that you always remember,” the dynamic 33-year-old attacker said. “I could see they were very special. The fans were really special. And the fans wanted to do something special.

“Maybe the relationship was built in 2018. I think that shows the future. You never know, especially in the football world.”

LAFC owners and front office coveted Son for years, but as he considered his options this summer, a move across the pond wasn’t his top choice.

With a year left on his Tottenham contract, Son felt like he had little to play for after helping the Spurs claim a European trophy for the first time in decades.

There was no shortage of suitors for his services.

Then a phone call with LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington, coupled with memories of the quick embrace from the club’s supporters during his only other visit to L.A., convinced him that a move to Major League Soccer from the English Premier League was the choice to make.

“I just can’t wait to play for them,” said Son, who noted that fans are the best part of sports and should be appreciated. “And as long as I’m wearing an LAFC shirt, I will give everything for them to make them proud.”

Son got his first taste of the 3252’s tireless singing and chanting in a game environment on Tuesday, when LAFC beat Club Tigres 2-1. And as he was introduced at BMO Stadium the next day, members of the 3252 celebrated a player who joined the club as a Designated Player through 2027, with club options for two more seasons.

“We’ve been so fortunate to have so many big days,” said

the club’s lead managing owner, Bennett Rosenthal. “This, in its own right, is a really special thing.”

Demanding the largest commitment LAFC has made to a player, including an MLS record $26.5 million transfer fee, “we’re not doing it for financial benefit,” Rosenthal said. “We’re doing this to win for our supporters, for our fans and to build a global legacy of what LAFC is.”

Rosenthal always poses two questions to Thorrington about any player they sign.

How do they fit our culture?

What is their character like?

Charismatic, genuine and humble was Thorrington’s assessment, and Son, fully fit after a preseason with Tottenham, has thus far lived up to that billing.

“Just because I had a successful career in Europe doesn’t mean I will do it here,” Son said. “So I see this as a new challenge and do my best. All that I received I want to give back to the ownership, and the team and the club and do the best I can and, when the time comes, leave as a legend of the club.”



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