Son Heung-min has been one of the most important players for Tottenham Hotspur over the past decade, but even with his outstanding contributions, he was not immune to the harsh criticism of José Mourinho.
In 2015, Son Heung-min joined Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen for a transfer fee of £22 million and has since scored 162 goals in 408 games, proving his worth.
Son Heung-min has played under several managers at Tottenham, including Mourinho who coached the team from 2019 to 2021. Recalling his time working with “The Special One,” Son Heung-min mentioned a particular incident.
During a match, Mourinho substituted Son Heung-min out due to the perception that he lacked a fighting spirit, which greatly upset him.
However, after the game, Mourinho proactively sent Son Heung-min a text message apologizing and explaining his actions, which left Son Heung-min feeling satisfied.
In an interview, Son Heung-min recalled, “In one game, Mourinho substituted me off. In front of everyone, he criticized me for not wanting to engage physically against teams like Burnley or Stoke. This made me very angry. I’m not an 18- or 19-year-old kid anymore, I shouldn’t be treated like this.”
“But after the game, Mourinho sent me a message saying ‘I know you can understand, it wasn’t about you, and I didn’t want to hurt you. But I had to make sure other players wouldn’t slack off. I needed to discourage the team by targeting the best player, and that person was you.’ After reading this message, I felt very happy.”
Nowadays, Mourinho is coaching at Fenerbahçe in Turkey, while Son Heung-min continues to shine at Tottenham. Following Harry Kane’s departure last summer, Son Heung-min took over as captain, becoming the new leader of the team.