South Korea and the financial impact of Son Heung-min exit from Tottenham Hotspur explained

After 10 years, 333 games, 127 goals and countless memories, the book was closed in Son Heung-min's Tottenham Hotspur career this summer.

The South Korea international opted to make the switch away from north London after a decade, moving to Los Angeles FC of the MLS in a deal worth some £19.5m to Spurs, not a bad sum for a 33-year-old whose best days at the top level were behind him, and who had become something of a bit-part player at the club over recent times.

But his importance to Spurs over his time at the club cannot be overstated; his brilliance on the pitch aiding their competitive effort while his pull off the pitch helped the club's bottom line.

Son, who arrived at Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, carved out a legendary career with the club. Adored by supporters across these shores, his impact in the Asian market - most prominently in his native South Korea - also helped the club foster legions of important fans in the region, aiding the club's bid to increase its global presence and impact in the face of clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea all seeking to do the same.

Son is something of a cultural phenomenon in his home country - his fame even outstripping that of uber-popular K-Pop idols which have penetrated the global music scene. According to analysis from Spurs' main sponsors AIA in 2022, Son's presence at Spurs saw 12million South Korean fans support the club, more than one in four.

Brands from the region viewed Spurs as an attractive proposition if they could leverage his image rights, and pre-season tours were a lucrative endeavor when heading to that geographical market.

Football wise, Spurs will cope with his exit. The time was right. But what impact does it have on the commercial side of the club and its appeal to fans in the region?

"Spurs have a global fan-base, and it is the Premier League club with the most fans in Korea," said Daniel Haddad, head of commercial advisory at global sports advisory firm Octagon, who specialises in the football industry, told football.london.

"It is one of the top five markets in the world where Spurs fans are, and Son's popularity there is enormous.

"It will have an impact - of some kind. Unless there is a significant uptick in form this coming season a lot of those fans who attached themselves to the club because of Son may become more casual or stop following altogether, and it can be impactful from a merchandising stand-point, potentially, meaning you're selling less in those markets.

"But, commercially, it probably isn't too damaging for Spurs.

"We've seen a trend of Korean brands investing in European football declining, with more now coming from the Middle East. A decade ago there was a lot more of it. From a commercial perspective it won't be so critical now."

With one bonafide superstar exiting, is it a consideration of clubs still when it comes to signing players about just how impactful they could be for them in certain markets?

Paris Saint-Germain tried it with the Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Jnr deals - while Juventus made a major play for it when they signed Cristiano Ronaldo, with a deal aided by the club's main sponsors. Is it impactful in the long term, though?

Haddad continued: "What we have seen through PSG and Juve is that it is very hard to get the benefits from it beyond the short term.

"There is acquisition of new audiences and eyeballs off the bat, but to convert those into longer-term loyal audiences is very difficult. Even though PSG and Juve have increased following and numbers on social media, engagement rates drop off after time.

"It's very hard to generate long-term fandom through solely player acquisition.

"Clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona, those kinds of big deals still have an impact on audience size and they are much better at retaining new fans.

"But for most clubs, commercially you might get a two or three-year boost - in terms of sponsorship deals - but keeping it going is difficult. Juve sponsors were a problem because after Ronaldo left it tailed off. But Spurs don't have an overreliance on partnerships to arrive from Son's reach to be concerned about anything like that."

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