Tottenham star, Son Heung-min turned down a chance to play for Jurgen Klopp, but it seems that Liverpool have had the last laugh.
Son had an amazing season and finished on level with Mo Salah for the golden boot last season. Both the wingers scored 23 goals and shared the feat.
Moreover, the South Korean managed to score against Klopp’s men in a draw in both home and away games. However, this proved costly ultimately for the Reds as they lost the title to the brilliant Man City by 1 point.
Although the Spurs man has scored 5 times in 14 games against Liverpool, he has been on the winning side just once. It was the infamous 4-1 Spurs victory back in October 2017, during which he scored a goal.
Klopp on Son to Liverpool
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said that he would have wanted to sign the winger earlier in his career.
“One of the biggest mistakes in my life is not signing Son Heung-min.
Outstanding player. He is fantastic, a sign of Korean football and one of the best strikers in the world.”
The German failed to sign the forward for Borussia Dortmund when he left Hamburg in 2013, as Son opted to join Bayer Leverkusen instead in a €10m deal. The South Korean went on to clarify why he didn’t choose Dortmund.
“I wanted to stay in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen and Dortmund wanted me.
Both teams play in the Champions League but I thought Dortmund would use rotation more than Leverkusen.
That’s why I chose Leverkusen over Dortmund. It’s really important to play regularly at my age.”
After 2 years, the winger moved to Spurs in a deal worth £22m after scoring 29 goals in 2 seasons for Leverkusen. Moreover, in the same summer, Klopp left Dortmund for Liverpool.
Currently, the 30-year-old is one of the most consistent players in the league and has 145 goals from 368 appearances across eight seasons for Spurs.
However, it has to be highlighted that his career has been depleted of trophies. Son would have been a serial winner under Klopp but it now seems like that ship has long sailed.
Liverpool had the last laugh!
On the other hand, even though the German considers not signing the South Korean one of the ‘biggest mistakes of his life,’ Liverpool had the last laugh.
They signed Firmino in the same summer from Hoffenheim for £29m. The 31-year-old boasts 109 goals and 72 assists for the Reds from 360 appearances to date. However, the Brazilian is set to leave the club this summer.
While in the next summer, the Reds bought Sadio Mane from Southampton for £34m. He went on to notch 120 goals and 38 assists in 269 appearances, before leaving for Bayern last summer.
Meanwhile, Salah joined Liverpool from AS Roma in a deal worth £43.9m, in the summer of 2017. He has undoubtedly been one of the consistent goal scorers in the league with 3 Golden Boots in his first three seasons at Merseyside.
He currently boasts 184 goals and 69 assists from 300 games. Moreover, the 30-year-old is already regarded as one of the greatest players in the club’s history.
Between them, the trio would help transform the Reds’ fortunes under Klopp. While Firmino and Mane would help get Liverpool back into the Champions League, the addition of Salah contributed to their transformation into one of Europe’s strongest sides.
Whether Son has any regrets of his own, given his lack of silverware compared to his Liverpool counterparts, only he knows.
I’m a football enthusiast and an avid writer and someone who lives by the Bill Shankly quote, on a day to day basis.
