Son Heung-min explains “most difficult decision” of his career ahead of Spurs exit | OneFootball

Son Heung-min has announced that he will be leaving Spurs after ten years with the club.

The forward will start and captain the side in Sunday’s pre-season friendly against Newcastle United in his home country, South Korea, which could be his last game for the Lilywhites.

Son wants to move to Major League Soccer despite renewed interest from Saudi Arabia, according to Sky Sports News. LAFC are set to “accelerate talks” with Tottenham Hotspur over a transfer.

Son Heung-min announces Spurs exit: “I need a change”

“I have decided to leave the club this summer. Respectfully the club is helping me with this decision,” said an emotional Son.

“It was the most difficult decision I have made in my career. Such amazing memories. It was so hard to make the decision.

“I need a new environment to push myself. I need a little bit of change. 10 years is a long time. I came to north London as a kid, 23 years old, such a young age. I leave this club as a grown man, a very proud man

“I want to say thank you to all the Spurs fans for giving me so much love. I hope the goodbye is also good timing and this is the right time to make that decision. I hope everyone can accept that and respect that.”

Son confirmed that he made his decision to leave Spurs a while ago, but only informed a few of his teammates. New Spurs manager Thomas Frank knew of his decision before their pre-season opener against Reading.

“It’s been quite a while since I made my decision to leave the club,” he said. “Recent days have been difficult. It was difficult to stay bright on the outside but I did my best not to harm the club or my teammates.”

The 33-year-old joined Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen for a £22 million transfer fee in 2015, which at the time made him the most expensive Asian footballer ever.

Son leaves the north London outfit as their fourth-highest goal scorer with 173 goals (and 101 assists) in all competitions. Only Harry Kane, Jimmy Greaves and Bobby Smith have scored more. His final competitive match was the UEFA Europa League final win over Manchester United in May.

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