On August 6, 2025, LAFC put pen to paper for a contract with South Korean star Son Heung-Min.
The club’s Instagram account quickly gained 100,000 followers and ticket prices skyrocketed, with everyone wanting to get a glimpse of the Premier League legend. Local sports teams, such as the Rams and Dodgers, posted videos welcoming Son to the city. The Dodgers even invited Son to throw out the first pitch at their August 27th game against the Reds.
Diehard LAFC fan and Mandarin teacher, Michael Mikita, was very excited to hear the news, “It’s huge for us because so many of our TSG members (LAFC’s Tigers Supporters Group) live in the Korean-American community. It means a lot to me personally because he’s a player who means a great deal to many people. For him to be at the club I’ve supported for years, it feels like the culmination of the process and time spent supporting.”
He also mentioned that he was pretty surprised with how quickly the transfer progressed, saying, “We thought we were getting Antoine Griezmann from France, but that deal got dragged out and fell through. So when we heard the news about Son, it was exciting to see how quickly they got the deal done and that he was immediately out on the field against Chicago.”
The move was shocking for quite a few reasons. The first being that many did not expect Son to leave Tottenham. Son had played for Tottenham for the past 10 years and been the captain of the club for the past two. Earlier this year, in May, he lifted the club’s first trophy in 17 years, after Tottenham defeated Manchester United to win the Europa League. After the match, he was quoted as stating, “I guess you could say I am a legend now.” Referring to an interview in which he said he wouldn’t be a Tottenham legend until he won a trophy. In 333 Premier League appearances, Son slotted 127 goals, including winning the Premier League Golden Boot in 2021. On top of this, he also provided his teammates with 71 assists, a Tottenham record.
Another factor that made Son’s move to LAFC somewhat surprising was the price. LAFC paid Tottenham Hotspur $26.5 million for Son, shattering LAFC’s current record amount spent for a player, which was previously $12.1 million. It also broke the Major League Soccer transfer record, which had previously been $24.7 million.
It marked a significant summer of transfer business for MLS clubs. The Vancouver Whitecaps turned some heads when they announced the signing of Bayern Munich legend Thomas Müller. Inter Miami also signed another big-name player when they got midfielder Rodrigo De Paul from Atletico Madrid.
“I’m excited to see Son because he’s a Premier League legend, and I’m interested to see how he compares to the MLS,” said LAFC season ticket holder Dylan Held ‘27, “I’m predicting that he will dominate the MLS since he’s coming from one of the best leagues in the world.”
So far life in Los Angeles is going well for Son. In seven games for LAFC, he has scored six goals, provided two assists and won a game tying penalty. He also scored his first career MLS hat trick last Wednesday against Salt Lake City, scoring in the third, 16th and 82nd minute. LAFC currently sit fourth in the Western Conference of the MLS and are hoping that Son can help lead them to the team’s second ever league title.
