Heung-Min Son’s exit may have just cost Tottenham ‘£60m’, here’s how
Heung-Min Son brought his Tottenham career to an end over the summer but the winger could now be costing his side £60million.
Son made the move to Los Angeles FC for a fee of around £20m after spending 10 years with the north London side.
Just before his departure, the South Korean international captained Tottenham to Europa League glory, as they beat Manchester United 1-0 in the final.
In the MLS, Son now earns a base salary of £7.9m per year, as well as additional performance-related bonuses.
Tottenham announce big sponsorship change
On 4 November, Tottenham confirmed their shirt sponsor deal with AIA would not be renewed, with the Hong Kong-based insurance group instead becoming the name on the front of Spurs’ training kits.
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Son’s departure may have had an effect on the contract not being extended.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that a lot of AIA’s business is Asian-based, so they may have been unwilling to match Tottenham’s demands now that the South Korean has left the club.
Wyness added that Spurs would have been asking for around £60m for their front-of-shirt sponsor.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “AIA were pretty consistent with Spurs for a long time. Looking at their business, a lot of it is Asia-based. And I just wondered if losing Son might have had an impact on why AIA didn’t want to pay what Spurs wanted for the front of shirt sponsor.
“The £60m mark now seems to be the going rate for a top-level Premier League shirt. Now that’s a big number but that’s due to social media and the broadcast interest around the world.
“I think Spurs are going to be looking for £60m now. Will they get it? We know AIA have moved back to the training kit so they’re not leaving Spurs, they’re going to stay because they’re obviously happy with the relationship.
“But you would’ve thought that they’d have been offered the front of the shirt. Maybe they said, not at that price, or we don’t see the value at that price.”
Tottenham’s response to fan unrest over Thomas Frank revealed
Meanwhile, Thomas Frank still has the full support of the Tottenham hierarchy despite recent fan unrest, sources have told Football Insider.
Spurs supporters booed Frank’s decision to substitute Xavi Simons against Man United at the weekend, with Mathys Tel replacing the Dutchman.
Tel scored the equaliser for Tottenham though, vindicating his manager’s decision and helping the north London side secure a point.
Sources say that there is no panic from the Spurs board or pressure on Frank, and that he has a lot of credit in the bank.
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