Son Heung-min Reflects on MLS Journey with LAFC
Son Heung-min admits it bluntly now: when Los Angeles FC first came calling, he had no intention of setting foot in MLS.
From his vantage point in London, the league looked like a soft landing spot, a place where aging stars eased into retirement. He had come through Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga, then spent his prime years in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur. After that, MLS hardly felt like a natural next step.
So when his agent first mentioned LAFC’s interest, Son’s reaction was instant.
“When I was in London, my agent told me that LAFC were interested in me,” he recalled on the podcast “The Late Run,” whose latest episode dropped Friday. “At the time, I thought, ‘Why would I go to MLS already? I’m definitely not going.’”
For a long time, that was that.
From dismissal to decision
The shift began when the clock started ticking on his Tottenham contract. With a year left in North London, the familiar comfort of Spurs suddenly felt less like home and more like a crossroads. A decade at one club, in one league, at one relentless level. Sooner or later, something had to give.
“When I had one year left on my contract, I felt that I needed a new challenge,” Son said.
His agent pushed for a conversation rather than a commitment. One meeting, over Zoom, with LAFC’s hierarchy. No promises.
That call changed everything.
Son realized this wasn’t a casual inquiry or a marketing play. LAFC had tracked him for a long time, studied him, waited for the right moment. On the screen, he sensed intent, not just flattery.
“I realized that LAFC had been following me for a long time, and I could feel how genuine their interest was,” he said. “That made me decide to move.”
Last summer, he walked away from Tottenham after 10 years and signed for LAFC. The move stunned fans in South Korea and across Europe. Many believed he still had more than enough to offer in one of the continent’s top five leagues. He knew that too. That was the point. This wasn’t a farewell tour. It was a reset.
A new view of MLS
Son arrived in the United States with his perceptions still shaped by European football. MLS, in his mind, was a distant product, rarely watched, barely discussed in the dressing rooms he had known.
That picture did not survive his first weeks in the league.
“I didn’t know much about MLS before coming here, but I was surprised and happy to see the stadiums packed for every game,” he said.
Full stands. Real noise. A league riding the wave of a World Cup bounce and a growing global profile.
For Son, that surge comes with responsibility.
“After the World Cup, it is now the responsibility of the players and the league to keep that momentum going,” he said.
On “The Late Run,” he also touched on the early days of his career in Germany and shared thoughts on former and current teammates, reflecting on how each chapter has shaped him. But the through-line was clear: a player who once dismissed MLS now finds himself at the heart of its push for credibility.
The question no longer is why he went. It’s what he and LAFC can build from here.
