Son Heung-min to return to Tottenham for fan farewell against Slavia Prague – The Athletic
Son Heung-min will return to Tottenham Hotspur for their home game against Slavia Prague on December 9.
Son, 33, left Spurs to join Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC over the summer, bringing down the curtain on a decade at the club which culminated in last season’s Europa League win.
The forward’s final appearance for Spurs was the pre-season friendly against Newcastle United in his native South Korea on August 3 and he has since said he would return to London to say goodbye to supporters.
The club confirmed on Wednesday that Son will take to the pitch before the teams walk out ahead of the Champions League fixture, and he will have an opportunity to address the crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Further details and timings will be communicated before the game.
Son said in a statement: “When I announced my difficult decision to leave Spurs in the summer, it was in Korea and I never got a proper chance to say goodbye to fans at the stadium.
“Now I am so happy because I am going to come back to London on 9th December, for the Champions League match, and be able to tell the Spurs fans in person just how much their support and love over ten years has meant to me and my family. It will be emotional, but it’s important for me and the club that this happens.”
Spurs also confirmed work had begun on a street mural for Son on Tottenham High Road, “further celebrating the legacy that Sonny has left in this part of North London”.
Son scored 173 goals for Spurs, leaving him fifth on the club’s list of all-time scorers, and captained Ange Postecoglou’s side to the club’s first trophy in 17 years last season – although he started the 1-0 win over Manchester United in Bilbao, Spain on the bench.
“Obviously I will go back to London and see all the Spurs fans,” Son said in October in an interview with YouTube channel Shoot For Love. “I deserve to say goodbye in front of them and they deserve to see me physically to say goodbye. It’s going to be very emotional but I definitely can’t wait to go back to London and see all the Spurs fans.”
He has scored 14 times in 13 appearance for LAFC following his summer move to the United States.
Spurs, meanwhile, have struggled since Son’s departure, with Thomas Frank’s side winless in their last five, having won just three times at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season.
