I know we’re all fully in our feels over last night’s news that Son Heung-Min is leaving Tottenham Hotspur this summer, likely for Los Angeles Football Club in MLS. It’s perfectly okay to be sad about that — I’m sad about that! — but there’s also new reporting about what could be details of the eventual deal.
In short, despite interest in Sonny from Saudi Arabian clubs, he appears set on leaving for Hollywood, with LAFC and Spurs close to a deal that could end up around £15m ($20m). That’s a lot of money for MLS; the league record transfer fee is $22m paid by Atlanta United for Emmanuel Latte Lath this past offseason. Ben Jacobs, who co-wrote the report, says Spurs would ideally like something closer to £20m ($27m), but probably won’t push too hard because they’re keen on smoothing the way for Son. Had Sonny considered Saudi Arabia an option, Spurs likely would’ve asked upwards of £30m, because those guys don’t need a financial break.
There’s no word on Sonny’s salary, except the possibility, even likelihood that he could end up near Lionel Messi as one of the highest paid players in MLS. Messi is currently making the equivalent of £295k/wk at Inter Miami.
Sonny will 100% be starting tomorrow’s preseason friendly between Tottenham and Newcastle at the Seoul World Cup Stadium tomorrow, after which the club returns to London to continue preseason training. Jacobs posits that the deal with LAFC will likely be finalized soon after Spurs return home; it’s possible that Son could join the team in time to potentially play for LAFC at Chicago Fire on August 9. The next match after that is August 16 at New England Revolution. Sonny’s home debut in LA would not come until September 1 against San Diego FC at the BMO Stadium.
I know £15m doesn’t feel like a lot of money for a Tottenham legend and genuine superstar, and it isn’t. But even getting £15m from an MLS club for a player in the last year of his contract is pretty decent, and Spurs are very clearly also doing Sonny a solid by not standing in his way. I like that. If that’s what it takes to make Sonny happy, then it’s the thing that needs to be done. A happy Sonny is the best Sonny, and it’s what we all want even as we sob and slobber all over our remote controls tomorrow morning.