Who is Heung-min Son? Spurs captain explained, including South Korea fame and iconic celebration
Heung-min Son has been at Tottenham Hotspur for nearly a decade now, and he continues to be the focal point of the Lilywhites lineup and the club’s most famous player.
In terms of value for money, you could argue he is actually Tottenham‘s best-ever signing. The South Korean star has delivered countless incredible goals and some amazing memories for the Spurs fans over the years.
Son is now Spurs captain under Ange Postecoglou and has proven to be an impeccable leader both on and off the pitch.
He is well-known around the world, but there is still much to learn about Heung-min Son. So, who is the talismanic Tottenham star? We’ve got all the details on his career, his celebration, and his status as a national icon in South Korea.
What is Heung-min Son’s celebration?
Whenever Son scores, he puts his fingers together in a rectangular shape and raises this up to his eyes as if he is using a camera.
This has become one of the most iconic celebrations in the game now, and it’s got a really nice meaning behind it, too.
When asked about the significance of the gesture, Son told The Sun: “I was thinking about what could be a special celebration… The camera celebration is because if I score a goal, it’s a good memory. It’s like, I take a picture so I have good memories in my mind.”
How much is Son paid and what is he worth?
Son is currently the highest-paid player at Tottenham, earning £9.88m a year or £190,000 per week.
That’s according to data from Spotrac, who put the 32-year-old a good £20,000 per week higher than the next player in the list, James Maddison.
His contract actually expires in June 2025, but there is an expectation that Tottenham will offer their star man a new deal at some point this season.
According to data from Transfermarkt, Son is currently worth £37.73m. That may sound a little low for a player of his quality, but this takes into account the fact his contract is in its final year, and his age, too.
Height, weight, and family information
Son has a very athletic build, coming in at 1.84m tall and weighing roughly 78kg. He is 32-years-old and was born on July 8, 1992.
Born in Chuncheon, Gangwon, in South Korea, Son had a strict upbringing on his path to becoming a footballing superstar. His father, Woong-jung Son, is the Chief Executive Officer of the SON Academy, and helped the Spurs man develop efficiently as a youngster.
Son’s father encouraged him to use both feet while growing up, which has helped him become one of the best two-footed players in the world.
His brother, Heung-yun Son, also played football but had to retire prematurely due to a serious injury while playing for Oberliga Hamburg.
While Son has been in relatively high-profile relationships in the past — he previously dated K-pop singers Bang Min-ah and Yoo So-young — he has been single since 2019 and does not have any children. Many of the Tottenham players refer to him as ‘Uncle Sonny’ as he helps look after their kids.
Is Son on Instagram?
Yes, Heung-min Son is on Instagram with the Spurs captain currently boasting a remarkable 14.3million followers on the Meta-owned social media presence.
Son’s Instagram username is currently ‘hm_son7’ and the forward is very active with new posts on the platform.
Son’s Spurs career explained
Since joining Tottenham in 2015, Son has gone on to become one of the club’s best-ever players, and ranks fourth in the list of the club’s all-time leading goalscorers.
Son signed for Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of £22m, making him the most expensive Asian footballer of all time.
It took him a while to establish himself in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad, but he really began to show what he could do in the 2016/17 season, scoring 21 goals in all competitions and adding seven assists.
Son was a key figure in the Spurs side that made it to the Champions League final in 2018/19, with his highlight being three goals across the two-leg quarter-final against Manchester City, including the only goal of the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The South Korean has remained an important part of Tottenham’s starting XI since Pochettino’s exit in 2019, being a regular starter for Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, and now Postecoglou. He took on the captaincy at the club in the summer of 2023
Son has been very clear about what he wants to achieve with Spurs, telling the BBC that he needs to lift a trophy to be considered a club legend. He said: “I still don’t think I am a legend of this club. I have said I want to win something with Spurs, then I want to be very happy to be called legend. I joined Spurs to win a trophy.”
A national icon in South Korea
As well as being one of the most famous players in the Premier League, Son is the captain of the South Korean national team and is revered as one of the greatest, most popular athletes in his country.
Son has over 100 caps for his country and is closing in on the record of being South Korea’s most-capped player of all-time — Hong Myung-bo and Cha Bum-kun have 136 caps each, but Son can match that total by June 2025 if he plays all eight of the scheduled World Cup qualifiers for Korea.
He is also approaching a half-century of international goals. Cha Bum-kun holds the record with 58 goals, and if Son continues at his current rate, he will surpass this figure within the next year to become the undisputed best Korean footballer ever.
Son is one of the most famous people in South Korea, and is certainly the most beloved sports stars in the country, if not Asia itself. He was ranked second in Forbes’ list of the most influential Korean celebrities in 2023.
Son’s career before Tottenham
Son enjoyed an impressive seven-year spell in Germany before moving to the Premier League, with both Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen.
In his native South Korea, Son started out playing for his school teams (Chuncheon Buan, Hupyeong, Yukminkwan, and Dongbuk). However, he dropped out of the latter to join FC Seoul in 2008.
From there, he moved to Germany and signed with Hamburg’s youth team. Son progressed through the ranks with the Bundesliga side, and ended up making 78 appearances for the senior team, scoring 20 goals.
Son joined Leverkusen in 2013, catching the eye with 29 goals and 11 assists in 87 games. He spent two years there before securing the move to Tottenham in 2015.
What awards has Heung-min Son won?
Heung-min Son has never won a trophy with club or country, but he does have an Asian Games gold medal to his name, as well as sharing the Premier League Golden Boot award with Mo Salah in 2022.
He has been crowned Asian Footballer of the Year seven times (2013, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). He was also named Tottenham’s Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020.
Another notable achievement for Son is winning the Puskas Award in 2020. After being passed the ball on the edge of his own area by Jan Vertonghen, Son ran the length of the pitch, beating a number of Burnley players along the way, before calmly slotting the ball in the back of the net.
He has gone close to club and country honours, though. He was runner-up in the Champions League with Spurs in 2019, and a runner-up in the Asian Cup with South Korea in 2015.
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