Son Heung-min: Lori recommends Los Angeles to me; I am old, I hope to prove myself in the United States

Hupu August 7th News This morning, Los Angeles FC held a press conference on Son Heung-min's franchise.

(He spoke to fans in Korean, English and Spanish.)

Son Heung-min admitted that when he was looking for a new owner earlier this year, the Los Angeles FC initially "is not my first choice". But he said Wednesday that Los Angeles general manager John Thorlington "changed my mind" during the first call.

"He changed my mind and changed my mind. He showed me where I should go.

I am very excited. I came here to win... I will show you something exciting. We will definitely show you something exciting. We will definitely succeed." After more than 20 minutes of the event, Son Heung-min finally had the opportunity to speak, and he called this transfer a "dream come true."

"Los Angeles, what a great city." One of the highlights of the event was that there are about 320,000 Koreans in the Greater Los Angeles area. Son Heung-min said that he was "very, very excited" to see so many Korean fans outside. In addition, there are thousands of people watching from afar, including on YouTube, where Korean comments are flooded with online chat almost every second. Many of the introductions and speeches on the stage were translated into Korean.

When asked why he signed with Los Angeles Football Club - the contract was valid until 2027 and comes with options for 2028 and the first half of 2029 - Son Heung-min said through an interpreter that the reasons were “a lot” and the strength of the local Korean community was one of them.

"As a Korean, I know that there are so many Koreans in Los Angeles. In this country, I am proud to be a member of the club and the city. I will make them proud with my performance."

His former teammate, Hugo Lori, who has been captaining for nine seasons at Tottenham Hotspur, helped him and made up his mind.

"Hugo has been helping me and recommending me how great Los Angeles is," Son Heung-min said.

But he clarified that he came here not just to enjoy the city.

"I came here for performance of course," said Son Heung-min. "But I also want to give young players some advice to help them improve."

He is 33 years old and struggles in the second half of the 2024-25 season.

"I think we can say I'm old," he said with a smile. "But my physical fitness is still very good, my legs are good, and I am still very good."

He then added in Korean through the translation:

"I'm in good health because I just finished the preseason. I'm here to play football and I'm ready to play. But there's still some preparations to do, and I'll work with the coaching staff and others to play as soon as possible.

My career in Europe is very successful, but that doesn't mean I can succeed here too. So, I want to see this as a new challenge and do my best.

I want to give back to the boss, the team and the club, do my best, and leave as a club legend when the time is right."