Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min has been crowned the AFC Asian International Player of the Year for 2023.
Widely considered the greatest Asian footballer ever, the South Korea international was named the best Asian player outside Asia for the fourth time in his career. Son first won the award in 2015 before winning it in 2017, 2019, and, most recently, 2023 (there were no awards in 2020 and 2021).
Since signing for Tottenham in 2015, Son has established himself as a club legend. However, in an interview conducted earlier this year, the Spurs captain humbly stated that he doesn’t consider himself a club legend yet and wants to achieve that status by winning Tottenham a trophy.
Son Heung-min wants to win a trophy to cement himself as a club legend
“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 a legend. This is one thing I want to do.
“I joined Spurs to win a trophy, and I hope we can make a special season.” Son said.
In his nine years in North London, Son has made 416 appearances in all competitions, scoring 165 goals. The forward is the 14th player to play 400 games for Spurs and is the club’s fifth-highest scorer in history. Not only has he achieved tremendous success with Tottenham, but Son is also regarded as one of the Premier League icons. The South Korean has four Player of the Month awards and a Golden Boot and is amongst the top 20 Premier League goalscorers of all time with 123 goals.
Son had a fine 2023-24 campaign, scoring ten goals and assisting 17 in 34 league starts. Though he’s faced injury setbacks this season, the South Korean forward is expected to return soon. Now 32 years old, Son’s prime years are numbered, and as captain, there would be no better time for Tottenham to win their first trophy since 2008.
