LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Son Heung-min agreed to a contract with Los Angeles FC on Tuesday, finalizing his move to Major League Soccer after a decade at Tottenham Hotspur.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old South Korean superstar forward is joining LAFC three days after he formally announced his decision to leave Tottenham<\/a>.<\/p>\n Son attended LAFC\u2019s Leagues Cup match against Tigres at BMO Stadium on Tuesday night, watching from a luxury suite. LAFC will formally introduce Son at a news conference Wednesday, but the club showed the forward on the stadium video board late in the first half as he waved to roaring fans thrilled by their team\u2019s landmark acquisition.<\/p>\n LAFC, a deep-pocketed club with significant team success in its first eight seasons of existence, reportedly paid a transfer fee of more than $20 million, which could end up being the most ever for an MLS move.<\/p>\n Son was a beloved presence at Spurs, scoring 173 goals in 454 competitive appearances for the North London club while rising to global prominence with his combination of speed, playmaking skill and finishing acumen.<\/p>\n The captain was given a memorable farewell last week<\/a> in Seoul during Tottenham\u2019s exhibition match against Newcastle, getting a guard of honor from both teams and tearfully exiting in the second half while nearly 65,000 fans roared.<\/p>\n But South Korea\u2019s most popular athlete \u2014 and almost certainly the greatest Asian soccer player in history \u2014 has chosen an auspicious stage for the next chapter of his groundbreaking career.<\/p>\n Los Angeles has the world\u2019s largest ethnic Korean population outside Korea, with the city\u2019s vibrant Koreatown district sitting just a couple of miles from LAFC\u2019s BMO Stadium.<\/p>\n LAFC is undoubtedly hoping to market Son as a soccer counterpart to the Dodgers\u2019 Shohei Ohtani, albeit on a smaller scale. Ohtani, the three-time MLB MVP from Japan who is on a trajectory to become the greatest Asian player in baseball history, draws fans from across the Pacific Rim to Dodger Stadium while attracting millions in sponsorships and partnerships for the Dodgers.<\/p>\n Son\u2019s move to California also puts him in position to make an impact on and off the field at the World Cup, which will be held across North America in 2026. Son, the captain of his national team, already has said he will play in his fourth World Cup.<\/p>\n After leading Tottenham to its first European trophy in decades by winning the Europa League in May<\/a> in a fitting cap to his English career, Son will go straight into the MLS Cup race when suits up for his new club. LAFC currently sits sixth in the Western Conference at 10-6-6, but with multiple games in hand on every team in front of it because of its participation in the Club World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Son\u2019s seven Premier League goals last season were his fewest since his Tottenham debut, but he still appears to have the pace and skill necessary to be a difference-maker at any level. He also turned 33 only a month ago, putting him on the younger end of the global stars recently arriving in MLS.<\/p>\n Lionel Messi and Marco Reus were 35 and Luis Su\u00e1rez was 37 when they went stateside in recent years, while Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris were both 37 when they joined LAFC last year.<\/p>\n Son will be reunited in Los Angeles with longtime Tottenham teammate Lloris, who has been outstanding since becoming LAFC\u2019s goalkeeper last season.<\/p>\n High-scoring French forward Denis Bouanga is the only designated player currently under contract for LAFC, and general manager John Thorrington has been criticized by some fans for not using the full power of his financial resources this season. LAFC spent months on an ultimately failed attempt to get France\u2019s Antoine Griezmann to leave Atl\u00e9tico Madrid.<\/p>\n Bouanga and Son have both thrived on the left wing during their careers, but Son likely has more positional versatility than Bouanga, making him a candidate to line up in the middle or even on the right wing.<\/p>\n Son seems to be an infinitely better fit for LAFC than Giroud, who moved to Lille last month after one disappointing year in California. LAFC plays a counterattacking, speed-based style that didn\u2019t suit Giroud\u2019s goal-scoring strengths<\/a>, while Son should be right at home in such a system.<\/p>\n But LAFC also could alter its style in the winter after coach Steve Cherundolo departs for Germany<\/a> following four largely successful seasons highlighted by an MLS Cup championship.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n