Son Heung-min (Korean: 손흥민; pronounced [son.ɣɯŋ.min]; born 8 July 1992) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and captains the South Korea national team. Known for his speed, finishing, two-footedness, and ability to link play, he is the top Asian goalscorer in both Premier League and UEFA Champions League history, and is widely regarded as the greatest Asian player of all time.
Born in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, 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 Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur two years later. While at Spurs, Son soon established himself as one of the best forwards in the world. He contributed to the club reaching the Champions League final in 2018–19 and the EFL Cup final in 2020–21. In 2019–20, Son scored a solo effort in the league that earned him the FIFA Puskás Award. In the 2021–22 season, he jointly won the Premier League Golden Boot award with 23 goals, becoming the first Asian player to win it. In April 2023, he became the first Asian player to score 100 Premier League goals. In 2023, Son was appointed as club captain of Tottenham. In 2025, he led Spurs to the UEFA Europa League title, his first major honor, ending a 17-year trophy drought for Spurs in the process.
A full international since 2010, Son is South Korea's record appearance holder. He has represented South Korea at the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026, and is his country's joint top scorer at the tournament, 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 2024. In June 2022, Son received the Order of Sport Merit, Cheongnyong class, the highest order of merit for achievement in sports given to a South Korean citizen, for his achievements in football. Son has been credited for having raised the profile of Spurs among South Koreans, with the club's marketing and social media strategy catering extensively to Korean supporters.
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.
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.
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.