Son announces decision to leave Spurs after ten years at the club as he is looking to seek a ‘bit of change’.
Son Heung-min announces Tottenham exit as he seeks ‘bit of change’ after decade at club.
After ten years with Tottenham, Son Heung-min has acknowledged that he has made the “most difficult decision” to leave the team during this summer’s transfer window.
Speaking at a news conference in Seoul, South Korea, during Spurs’ preseason tour of Asia, the 33-year-old made the announcement.
“Before we start the press conference I wanted to say I have decided to leave the club this summer,” Son said as he sat beside Tottenham’s new manager, Thomas Frank. “Respectfully, the club is helping me with this decision.
“It was the most difficult decision I have made in my career. Such amazing memories. It was so hard to make the decision. I need a new environment to push myself. I need a little bit of change – 10 years is a long time. I came to north London as a kid, 23 years old, such a young age. I leave this club as a grown man, a very proud man.”
In July, Frank hinted that the forward would be leaving Spurs, but he would not say if Son would continue to be the team’s captain for the upcoming campaign. “If a player has been at a club a long time, then there will always be a decision for the club to take.”
Son joined Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2015, and in 454 games in all competitions, he has scored 173 goals. Prior to winning the Europa League, the first club trophy of his career, as Spurs defeated Manchester United in the May final in Bilbao, he only scored seven goals in the Premier League the previous season, when they finished 17th.
“Winning a title in Europe felt like I had achieved everything I possibly could,” Son added. “I spent a lot of time reflecting on whether I wanted to experience football in a different environment, and I had those conversations with myself over and over again.”
“For me, personally, I would have loved to have worked with this fantastic person and player,” Frank said during Saturday’s press conference. “He is a true Spurs legend in every aspect, one of the greatest players to play in the Premier League. It is never easy to find the perfect timing and me coming in from the side, it makes it a bit easier to end on a high.”