Legends being legends.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by Jürgen Klinsmann, played El Salvador to a 1-1 draw at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium on June 20 in the second match of their June A match trial.
South Korea took the lead through Hwang Eui-jo in the fourth minute of the second half, but conceded a goal in the 42nd minute through Alex Roldan to settle for a 1-1 draw.
Son Heung-min, who underwent surgery for a sports hernia in late May, was benched for the first leg against Peru, but he made a brief appearance in the second leg, coming on as a 24th-minute substitute.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that a Saudi Arabian club is preparing to sign Son Heung-min for a transfer fee of $65 million (KRW83.5 billion).”안전놀이터
The Saudi Arabian League, which has recently signed Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and others, has expressed interest in Son Heung-min.
[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (All rights reserved)
According to reports, Al Ittihad, who won the league title in the 2022-2023 season, are in the hunt for Benzema in this transfer window.
The Saudi club, which is a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), is targeting Asia’s top star with an “Asian quota”.
According to sources, Son has been offered a four-year contract at €30 million a season. Al Ittihad are on the verge of signing N’Golo Kante and already have Benzema in their sights.
But even the big money couldn’t keep Son away. “I still have a lot of work to do in the Premier League,” Son said after the game, adding, “In the past, my brother (Ki Sung-yong) also said, ‘The Korean captain doesn’t go to China’. Money is not important right now.”
[OSEN=Daejeon, Kim Sung-rak] Hwang Eui-jo (31, FC Seoul) tasted a goal after almost a year with the national team, but the Klinsmann ‘first win’ did not follow.The South Korean national soccer team (27th in FIFA rankings), coached by Jürgen Klinsmann, drew 1-1 with El Salvador (75th) in the second match of the June A match at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on June 20.South Korea’s Son Heung-min greets the crowd after the match. 2023.06.20 /ksl0919@osen.co.kr
On Tottenham’s fan site on the global Reddit, fans responded to Son’s comments by saying they were touched by the gesture. One Tottenham fan wrote, “Heung-min’s comments are a great reminder of how veteran players, such as Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante, are often tempted by the lure of huge salaries in Saudi Arabia, but still express their love for their clubs.
Another Tottenham fan wrote: “I knew I made the right choice when I started to admire him, he’s already my idol but I’ll say it again. He’s the best,” or “Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy should build a statue to him right now. He’s our greatest legend,” and so on.