Son Heung-min has discussed how he was subjected to racism in Germany and how he got “revenge” at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Son moved to Europe from South Korea in 2008 and enrolled in Hamburg’s youth school as part of an international exchange program.
However, he made an impression on the German club, which led to his permanent signing the following year. He played with Hamburg for four years before moving on to Bayer Leverkusen.
The 29-year-old recalled his time in Germany and described the bigotry he encountered there while playing in the Bundesliga as ‘unimaginable moments’.
He mentioned this while speaking at a fan event in Seoul:
“I moved to Germany when I was young, and went through so many really difficult, unimaginable moments.
“I faced a lot of racism. And while going through such a really difficult time, I had a lot of thoughts on my mind I should get my revenge one day.”
Son was able to exact “revenge” after South Korea’s historic World Cup victory over Germany.
He scored in his team’s 2-0 victory over Germany to eliminate them from the competition.
“When people cry, I’d (usually) want to comfort them and give them a hug.”
“But watching German people cry, (I felt) I was able to take revenge by doing something I like,” the South Korean added.
Watch how Son Heung-min helped South Korea defeat Germany in 2018 below:
Son spent two years at Leverkusen before being acquired by Tottenham for $22 million in 2015.
Unfortunately, racism is also a problem for the elite forward in England.
But Son, who had his finest scoring season of his career last season, seemed unaffected by the vile insults.
He shared the Premier League Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah after scoring 24 goals in all competitions.
Son plays on the left-wing as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur. According to the 1vs1 Index for Tottenham Hotspur, he is now the team’s best player.
In the 38 games he played in the 2021–2022 season, he scored 24 goals. He shared the top-scoring spot in the Premier League with Liverpool’s Mo Salah. His shot-to-goal conversion rate was 60 percent.
In the 2021–2022 season, Heung Min Son added 7 assists after 38 matchdays. He was ranked number 18 in the Premier League based on these stats. Additionally, he has 36 opportunities produced in total. He was ranked number 13 in the Premier League with these stats.
He also triumphed in 64 tackles and 73 aerial battles. He also made a total of 11 blocks on top of that. After match day 38, he was ranked 142 in the just-finished Premier League season based on these statistics.