*This content was translated by AI.
Son Heung-min (34, Los Angeles FC), who conquered the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) stage, has been nominated for the 2025 Team Striker of the Year category selected by EASPORTS.
The MLS Secretariat announced on its official social network service (SNS) on the 8th (Korea Standard Time) that "four MLS players, including Son Heung-min, have been selected as this year's team candidates."
According to the secretariat, Son Heung-min, Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Anders Drayer (San Diego FC), and Evander (Cincinnati) have been nominated for this year's team.
The list of candidates for the striker category was lined with world-class players. With a total of 27 strikers listed, Son Heung-min was on par with the world's top strikers, including Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo (Alnasr), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Elling Holan (Manchester City), and Harry Kane (Bayern Munich). In particular, Usman Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain), who swept the 2025 Ballon d'Or and the FIFA Player of the Year award, was also included in the candidates.
In addition to the strikers, EASPORTS revealed candidates for each position. Thirty-five players, including Ramin Yamal (FC Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Michael Olise (Munich), Vitinha (PSG), and Doan Ritz (Eintracht Frankfurt), were listed in the midfielder category.
Fifteen players, including Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Jonathan Ta (Munich), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), and Nunu Mendes (PSG), were included in the defender category, while seven gatekeepers, including Manuel Neuer (Munich), Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), Miele Svillar (AS Roma), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City), David Raya (Arnall), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), and Alisson Becker (Liverpool), will compete fiercely for just one spot.
In the second half of the 2025 season, Son Heung-min showed an overwhelming performance. Son Heung-min, who left Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League (EPL) for LAFC in August, scored his first help in his debut with the Chicago Fire shortly after joining, and immediately proved his class by scoring a Masugul goal in the ensuing game.
In particular, the fantastic long-range free-kick goal against FC Dallas left a clear impact, including being selected as MLS's goal of the year later.
The record is also overwhelming. Son Heung-min scored nine goals and three assists in 10 MLS regular league games, followed by 12 goals and four assists in a total of 13 games, including the playoffs. Thanks to Son Heung-min's explosive performance, LAFC raised its ranking in the second half and ranked third in the conference standings.
The synergy effect with the existing ace was also perfect. Son showed off his fantastic chemistry with his team's main gun Dennis Vuanga. Since joining Son Heung-min, the two players have made 18 consecutive goals, breaking the record for the most consecutive goals scored in MLS history.
"Son Heung-min didn't need time to prove his value to match the record transfer fee of $26.5 million (about 38.5 billion won)," the local media "One Football" praised. "It is even more impressive that he has raised the value of his colleagues beyond simple numbers."
The fighting spirit, which was shown until the end of the season, was also brilliant. In the Western Conference semifinals with Vancouver, Son Heung-min scored a dramatic tie-breaking free-kick goal in extra time following the comeback goal, bringing the game to square one.
Although LAFC lost unfortunately, the MLS Secretariat ranked Son second in the recruitment category of the year for the 2025 season, calling his goal "one of the best scenes in the playoffs."
The commercial impact off the field was also enormous. LAFC general manager Torrington added, "Son Heung-min's uniforms were the most sold in the world in the week after the transfer."
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*This content was translated by AI.
