Son Heung-min

In this Korean name, the family name is Son.

Son Heung-min
Son in 2018
Personal information
Full name Son Heung-min[1]
Date of birth (1992-07-08) 8 July 1992 (age 32)[1]
Place of birth Chuncheon, South Korea
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward[3]
Team information
Current team
 Tottenham Hotspur
Number 7
Youth career
2006–2007[4] Yukminkwan Middle School
2007[5] Dongbuk Middle School
2008[5] FC Seoul[note 1]
2008–2010 Hamburger SV
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010 Hamburger SV II 6 (1)
2010–2013 Hamburger SV 73 (20)
2013–2015 Bayer Leverkusen 62 (21)
2015– Tottenham Hotspur 310 (123)
International career‡
2008–2009 South Korea U17 18 (7)
2016–2018 South Korea U23 10[α] (3)
2010– South Korea 129 (49)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  South Korea
AFC Asian Cup
Runner-up 2015 Australia
Third place 2011 Qatar
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta-Palembang
AFC U-16 Championship
Runner-up 2008 Uzbekistan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:58, 3 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:32, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
Son Heung-min
Hangul
손흥민
Hanja
孫興慜
Revised RomanizationSon Heungmin
McCune–ReischauerSon Hŭngmin
IPA[son hɯŋ.min]

Son Heung-min (Korean: 손흥민; Korean pronunciation: [son.ɣɯŋ.min]; born 8 July 1992) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the South Korea national team.[3] He is recognised for his speed, finishing, two-footedness, and ability to link play.[6][7]

Born in Chuncheon, South Korea, Son relocated to Germany to join Hamburger SV at 16, making his debut in the Bundesliga in 2010. In 2013, he moved to Bayer Leverkusen for a club record €10 million before signing for Tottenham for £22 million two years later, becoming the most expensive Asian player in history.[8] While at Tottenham, Son became the top Asian goalscorer in both Premier League and Champions League history,[9] and surpassed Cha Bum-kun's record for most goals scored by a Korean player in European competition.[10][11][12] In 2019, he became the second Asian in history to reach and start a UEFA Champions League final after compatriot Park Ji-sung.[13] In the 2021–22 season, alongside Mohamed Salah, he won the Premier League Golden Boot award with 23 goals, becoming the first Asian player to win it.[14] In April 2023, he became the first Asian player to score 100 Premier League goals. He is also the club's fifth-highest goalscorer and all-time leader in assists. Son is the third Tottenham player to make 300 Premier League appearances for the club, after Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane.[15]

A full international since 2010, Son has represented South Korea at the 2014, 2018, and 2022 FIFA World Cups and is his country's joint top scorer at World Cups, tied with Park Ji-sung and Ahn Jung-hwan on three goals. Son has also represented South Korea at the 2018 Asian Games, where the team won gold, and the 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023 editions of the AFC Asian Cup; Korea was the runner-up in 2015.

Outside of football, Son is viewed as a symbol of national pride in South Korea for his achievements, and has been listed in Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 since 2019, where he ranked second in 2023.[16][17][18] In June 2022, Son received the Cheongnyong Medal, the highest order of merit for achievement in sports given to a South Korea citizen, for his achievements in football.[19] Son has been credited for having raised the profile of Tottenham Hotspur among South Koreans, with the club's marketing and social media strategy catering extensively to Korean supporters.[20]

  1. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – Squad List: Korea Republic (KOR)" (PDF). FIFA. 29 November 2022. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Son Heung-Min: Overview". Premier League. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Premier League – 2018/2019 – Tottenham Formations Summary". Whoscored.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  4. ^ [손흥민 성장스토리] 육민관중 NO.9, 대한민국 NO.9 되다 (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. 24 December 2014. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  5. ^ a b [창간28주년 기획특집] 28세 손흥민의 성공스토리 – ④ 손흥민, 원주 육민관중으로 전학가다 (in Korean). Kangwon Domin Ilbo. 26 November 2020. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Top 50 players at World Cup 2022, No. 14: Son Heung-min". FOX Sports. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  7. ^ "The 100 best male footballers in the world 2022". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference AsianTransferRecord was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Son Heung-Min Breaks Record as top Asian scorer in Champions League history". Resonate. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Son Heung Min Breaks European Goal Record for Korea". KoogleTV. 7 November 2019. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Son Heung-min Sets European Soccer Korean Scoring Record". KBS World Radio. 7 November 2019. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference top scorer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Takumi Minamino at Liverpool: Asia's top European stars". UEFA.com. 19 December 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Golden Boot: Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min finish as Premier League's top scorers". BBC Sport. 22 May 2022. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Sonny becomes third player to reach 300 Premier League appearances for the Club". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  16. ^ "The Top 15 Most Powerful Korean Celebrities Of 2023, According To Forbes Korea's "Power Celebrity" List". KoreaBoo. 3 May 2023. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  17. ^ Church, Ben (25 November 2019). "How Son Heung-Min 'Sonsation' gripped South Korea". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  18. ^ Masters, James (9 April 2019). "Son Heung-Min: How 'Little Seoul' fell in love with its favorite son". CNN. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Internationals – Sonny awarded Order of Sport Merit, Dejan on target". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 3 June 2022. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  20. ^ Eccleshare, Charlie (18 July 2022). "Son-mania in South Korea: Putting Tottenham on the map in East Asia". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 31 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.


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