Heung-min Son is one of the greatest players in Tottenham Hotspur history, having scored 173 goals in 454 appearances during ten seasons in north London.
The South Korean forward joined Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 and went on to become a Premier League Golden Boot winner, FIFA Puskás Award winner, club captain and, ultimately, a trophy-winning Tottenham skipper.
Son’s final full season with Spurs ended with the moment he had waited a decade for. Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0 in the 2025 Europa League final before Son lifted the trophy in Bilbao.
He left Tottenham for Los Angeles FC in August 2025 as the club’s fifth-highest goalscorer of all time.
This guide covers Son’s Tottenham career, records, South Korea status, famous celebration and the achievements that established him as a Spurs legend.
Information checked: 16 September 2026.
Heung-min Son profile
| Full name | Son Heung-min |
| Date of birth | 8 July 1992 |
| Place of birth | Chuncheon, South Korea |
| Position | Forward |
| Current club | Los Angeles FC |
| Tottenham career | 2015–2025 |
| Tottenham appearances | 454 |
| Tottenham goals | 173 |
| Tottenham captain | 2023–2025 |
| Major Tottenham trophy | UEFA Europa League, 2024/25 |
| Premier League Golden Boot | 2021/22 |
| FIFA Puskás Award | 2020 |
| South Korea | Captain and record appearance holder |
Son’s 173 Tottenham goals place him fifth in our Tottenham Hotspur all-time goalscorers list.
When did Heung-min Son join Tottenham?
Tottenham signed Son from Bayer Leverkusen in August 2015.
He had already established himself in the Bundesliga after moving to Germany as a teenager and progressing through Hamburg’s academy before joining Bayer Leverkusen in 2013.
Across his time with Hamburg and Leverkusen, Son scored 49 goals in 165 senior appearances in Germany before making the move to the Premier League.
His first competitive Tottenham appearance came away at Sunderland on 13 September 2015.
Son scored his first Spurs goals four days later when he struck twice against Qarabag in the Europa League.
His first Premier League goal followed against Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane.
How many games did Son play for Tottenham?
Son made 454 competitive appearances for Tottenham.
That places him among the leading appearance makers in the club’s history.
Only Steve Perryman, Gary Mabbutt, Pat Jennings, Cyril Knowles and Glenn Hoddle made more competitive appearances for Spurs.
Son overtook several Tottenham greats during his final seasons at the club and ended his Spurs career ahead of players including Ted Ditchburn, Hugo Lloris, Alan Gilzean and Harry Kane.
See the complete ranking in our guide to the Tottenham players with the most appearances.
How many goals did Son score for Tottenham?
Son scored 173 goals in 454 competitive Tottenham appearances.
That leaves him fifth on the club’s all-time scoring list.
Only Harry Kane, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Smith and Martin Chivers scored more.
Son finished just one goal behind Chivers, who scored 174 times for Spurs.
His Tottenham total included 127 Premier League goals, making him the club’s second-highest scorer in the competition behind Kane.
He is also the highest-scoring Asian player in Premier League history.
Son’s Premier League Golden Boot
One of Son’s greatest individual achievements came during the 2021/22 season.
He scored 23 Premier League goals to share the Golden Boot with Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah.
None of Son’s 23 league goals that season came from penalties.
The achievement made him the first Asian footballer to win the Premier League Golden Boot.
He became the third Tottenham player to win the award during the Premier League era, following Teddy Sheringham and Harry Kane.
Son’s 2025 Europa League triumph
The defining team achievement of Son’s Tottenham career arrived on 21 May 2025.
Spurs faced Manchester United in the Europa League final at San Mamés in Bilbao.
Brennan Johnson scored the only goal of the match as Tottenham won 1-0 to claim their first major trophy since 2008 and first European trophy since 1984.
Son started the final on the bench because of the foot problem that had affected the closing weeks of his season.
Cristian Romero captained the starting side, with Son entering during the second half.
As Tottenham’s club captain, Son then collected the trophy after the final whistle and lifted it in front of the Spurs supporters.
The victory made him one of a select group of Tottenham captains to lift a major trophy.
Son had previously said that winning silverware with Tottenham was the achievement he felt he needed before considering himself a genuine club legend.
He finally achieved it during his last season in north London.
Read our Tottenham 1-0 Manchester United Europa League final report for the full story of the night in Bilbao.
When was Son Tottenham captain?
Son was appointed Tottenham captain in August 2023.
Ange Postecoglou selected him following the departure of Harry Kane and with Hugo Lloris no longer part of the first-team plans.
Cristian Romero and James Maddison were appointed vice-captains.
Son remained Tottenham’s club captain for two seasons.
His captaincy ultimately culminated in lifting the Europa League trophy in May 2025.
When Son left Spurs that summer, Cristian Romero succeeded him as captain.
Son and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Son holds an important place in the history of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
On 3 April 2019, he scored the first senior competitive goal at the new ground.
His second-half strike opened the scoring in Tottenham’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Crystal Palace.
Christian Eriksen scored the second.
Son had also scored the first Tottenham goal in a European match at the stadium when Spurs defeated Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-final six days later.
Son’s Champions League run in 2019
Son played an important role as Tottenham reached the Champions League final for the first time in 2018/19.
He scored against Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 before playing a decisive role against Manchester City in the quarter-finals.
Son scored the only goal of the first leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and then struck twice during the dramatic second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Spurs progressed on away goals after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate.
Tottenham eventually reached the final in Madrid, where Liverpool won 2-0.
What is Heung-min Son’s goal celebration?
Son became famous for his distinctive camera celebration.
After scoring, he forms a rectangle with his thumbs and index fingers and raises his hands as though taking a photograph.
Son has explained that the celebration represents capturing the moment as a good memory.
It became one of the most recognisable goal celebrations in the Premier League and was copied by other athletes around the world.
The celebration became closely associated with Son during the later years of his Tottenham career.
Son’s famous goal against Burnley
Son won the 2020 FIFA Puskás Award for his extraordinary solo goal against Burnley.
The goal came during Tottenham’s 5-0 Premier League victory in December 2019.
Son collected possession close to his own penalty area before carrying the ball most of the length of the pitch, beating several Burnley players and finishing past goalkeeper Nick Pope.
FIFA subsequently named it the best goal of the year.
The Premier League also selected the strike as its Goal of the Season for 2019/20.
Son and South Korea
Son is one of the most important players in the history of South Korean football.
He has represented his country at four World Cups and has captained the national team for much of his senior international career.
In October 2025, Son became South Korea’s most-capped men’s international when he made his 137th appearance, moving beyond the previous record held by Cha Bum-kun and Hong Myung-bo.
He has also scored more than 50 international goals.
Son helped South Korea win the Asian Games football tournament in 2018 and was part of the team that finished as runners-up at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
His status in South Korea extends well beyond football, and Tottenham’s visits to Seoul during his time at the club regularly attracted huge crowds.
Why is Son so popular in South Korea?
Son became the most internationally prominent South Korean footballer of his generation after establishing himself in the Premier League.
His performances for Tottenham, captaincy of the national team and achievements including the Golden Boot made him one of South Korea’s most recognisable sports stars.
Tottenham experienced the scale of his popularity directly during pre-season tours of South Korea.
More than 60,000 supporters attended matches involving Spurs in Seoul, with Son receiving enormous attention from supporters and media.
His success also helped significantly increase Tottenham’s profile across South Korea and other parts of Asia.
Son and Harry Kane
Son formed one of the Premier League’s most productive attacking partnerships with Harry Kane.
The pair combined for 47 Premier League goals, setting a competition record for goal combinations between two players.
Their different qualities complemented each other particularly well.
Kane increasingly dropped into deeper positions to create chances, while Son’s pace and movement allowed him to attack the space behind opposition defences.
The partnership was central to Tottenham’s attacking play before Kane left for Bayern Munich in 2023.
Both players now feature prominently among Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorers.
When did Son leave Tottenham?
Son left Tottenham for Los Angeles FC in August 2025.
The permanent transfer brought an end to his ten-year career in north London.
He departed having made 454 appearances and scored 173 goals.
Most importantly for Son himself, he left only months after finally lifting a major trophy as Tottenham captain.
He subsequently returned to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December 2025 to say a proper farewell to supporters.
Son now wears number seven for LAFC in Major League Soccer.
Is Heung-min Son a Tottenham legend?
Tottenham now officially recognises Son among the club’s Legends.
His place in Spurs history rests on more than longevity alone.
Son left Tottenham as:
- the club’s fifth-highest goalscorer
- one of only seven players at the time to reach 450 appearances
- the first senior competitive goalscorer at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- a Premier League Golden Boot winner
- a FIFA Puskás Award winner
- Tottenham’s Europa League-winning captain
His ten-year Tottenham career spans the final seasons at White Hart Lane, the temporary move to Wembley, the opening of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the 2019 Champions League final and the end of the club’s 17-year trophy drought.
He therefore occupies a significant place among the greatest players in Tottenham Hotspur history.
Heung-min Son’s Tottenham career in summary
Heung-min Son represented Tottenham Hotspur from 2015 until 2025.
He made 454 competitive appearances and scored 173 goals, finishing fifth on Tottenham’s all-time goalscoring list.
His individual achievements included the 2021/22 Premier League Golden Boot and 2020 FIFA Puskás Award.
Son was appointed club captain in 2023 and achieved the defining ambition of his Spurs career two years later when Tottenham defeated Manchester United to win the Europa League.
He left for Los Angeles FC in August 2025 as a trophy-winning captain and one of the most significant players of Tottenham’s modern era.
For more on Son’s place in the club’s history, explore our Tottenham Hotspur legends, all-time goalscorers and club honours pages.
Sources
Son’s final Tottenham appearance and goals totals have been checked against Tottenham Hotspur’s official announcement of his move to LAFC.
His Tottenham achievements can also be found in the club’s official Heung-min Son Legends profile.
Son’s current club information is available through his official LAFC player profile.