LAFC has finalized the transfer of Korean star Son Heung-min for a league-record fee.<\/p>\n
Son is set to be introduced by LAFC on Wednesday, according to multiple sources briefed on the deal. He attended LAFC\u2019s Leagues Cup match vs. Tigres at the club\u2019s BMO Stadium on Tuesday night after arriving in Los Angeles. LAFC will pay Tottenham in the neighborhood of $26.5 million (\u00a320 million) for the winger, sources said.<\/p>\n
Son immediately becomes the highest-profile player in the league besides Lionel Messi and adds an enormous talent to an LAFC team that has consistently been a championship contender. His impact commercially should be enormous, too<\/a>. South Korean supporters regularly flew to London to watch Son play. Reporters moved to London to cover the star player. Now, he\u2019ll be in a Los Angeles market that is home to the largest Korean population in the U.S. (320,000), according to Pew Research Center. It is the largest such population outside of Korea.<\/p>\n The 33-year-old announced last week that he would be leaving Tottenham after a decade of service. In that time, Son established himself as one of the most successful players in Spurs history, a tenure capped by winning the UEFA Europa League in the spring. He played his final game for the club in his home country at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore we start, I just want to share the information that I have decided to leave this club this summer,\u201d Son said on the day before the game<\/a>. \u201cIt was the most difficult decision I have made in my career. I have spent 10 years at Tottenham. The main reason is that I have achieved everything I can at Tottenham. I need a new environment for a fresh challenge. I\u2019m grateful the club have respected my decision and wish Spurs well for the next season.<\/p>\n \u201cI came to north London as a kid \u2014 23 years old, a very young age, a boy who couldn\u2019t speak English. I leave this club as a man. Thank you to all the Spurs fans who have given me so much love. It felt like it was my home.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it is the right time to leave. I hope that everyone understands that and respects that.\u201d<\/p>\n Dear Spurs fans\u2026<\/p>\n Sonny’s letter to you \ud83e\udd0d pic.twitter.com\/AeghRPexgz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Son scored 127 Premier League goals with Spurs and added 71 assists, one of just seven players ranking in the top 20 in both categories alongside legends like Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Mo Salah.<\/p>\n He finished as the fifth-highest goal scorer in Tottenham history with 173 goals in all competitions and played more Premier League matches than any other Spurs player with 333.<\/p>\n \u201cSonny is Tottenham,\u201d James Maddison said on Saturday as he prepared to play with Son for the final time. \u201cAnd Tottenham is Sonny. It\u2019s weird to think about Tottenham Hotspur without Son.\u201d<\/p>\n Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy added in a statement on Wednesday confirming the transfer: \u201cSonny is one of the greatest players to ever wear the famous Lilywhite shirt and he has been a joy to watch over the past decade. Not only is he a wonderfully gifted footballer, but he\u2019s also an incredible human being who has touched hearts and inspired people throughout the club and all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n The record fee surpasses the $22 million Atlanta United paid for Middlesbrough forward Emmanuel Latte Lath this winter. ESPN<\/a> and GiveMeSport<\/a> previously reported the record fee for Son.<\/p>\n Son signing in LA feels almost like a continuation of the Messi effect as more MLS teams look to bring in big name players that can elevate their respective clubs, as well as the league, to a wider audience. When Messi joined MLS, he brought two of his former teammates with him \u2014 Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets. A year later, another close friend and former teammate signed in Miami: Luis Su\u00e1rez. But it was important to start to see that momentum move outside of Miami and across the league \u2014 and beyond just players on the wrong side of 35.<\/p>\n This summer window has now seen three big-name players join, or agree to sign with, MLS teams.<\/p>\n Thomas M\u00fcller, the 35-year-old Germany and Bayern Munich legend, has joined the Vancouver Whitecaps<\/a>.\u00a0Messi\u2019s World Cup-winning teammate Rodrigo De Paul, 31, just signed in Miami<\/a>. And now Son becomes the marquee player in MLS\u2019s biggest West Coast market.<\/p>\n Chicago nearly nabbed another big name earlier this summer, but Kevin De Bruyne opted to sign with Napoli instead.<\/p>\n Signing marquee players is not necessarily a new phenomenon in the league. In 2015, the league signed Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard, David Villa, Kak\u00e1, Steven Gerrard, Gio Dos Santos, Didier Drogba, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco. But as MLS builds toward the 2026 World Cup and potential foundation-shifting changes in the year to come, it has to start to generate buzz. At the All-Star Game earlier this summer, MLS commissioner Don Garber alluded to the league considering major changes to the calendar, competition and roster rules that could aid those efforts. He called it MLS 3.0<\/a>.<\/p>\n If the league can consistently blend those higher-profile signings with its teams\u2019 more active stance in the global transfer market, both with young international players and in-prime signings, it could help to push MLS to a higher standard.<\/p>\n Son\u2019s signing in L.A. represents a step in that direction for a club that has consistently done well in other areas of roster build.<\/p>\n (Top photo: Han Myung-Gu\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n