According to the website specializing in global player valuation Tranfersmarkt, Son Heung Min’s transfer price is currently about 50 million euros (about 1,320 billion VND), 20 to 25 times higher than the total transfer price of Vietnam team participates in the 2023 Asian Cup.
This is only the transfer price in At the present time, Son Heung Min has declined and has passed the age of 30 (born in 1992). Before that, this player was sometimes valued at about 70 – 100 million euros (about 1,850 – 2,637 billion VND).
Also according to Tranfersmarkt, Lee Kang In’s transfer price is about 22 million euros (more than 580 billion VND). Korea also has another very expensive player, striker Hwang Hee Chang, worth 18 million euros (about 475 billion VND).
They are talented players but their real talent is at a high level. If only the numbers mentioned above are a different story?
For example, the player with the same position as a striker and winger as Son Heung Min is Christian Pulisic (USA) who transferred from Chelsea to AC Milan back last summer for only 22 million euros, about half the estimated transfer price of Son Heung Min.
Pulisic is only 25 years old, 6 years younger than Son Heung Min, immediately used Pulisic’s time at the peak will theoretically be much higher than football Korea. But the striker captain of the US team is much cheaper.
Pulisic is cheaper not because he is less capable than Son Heung Min, on the contrary (in theory, the US team is stronger than Korean team). American football stars are valued lower because football in the country of the flag does not have a good image like football in Korea.
In terms of salary, the same goes for Son Heung Min’s salary at Tottenham ( England) is about 10 million pounds/year (nearly 310 billion VND/year) while the salary of Argentine striker Paulo Dybala at AS Roma (Italy) is about 6 million pounds/year (more than 185 billion VND/year). Even though in terms of individual talent, world champion Dybala is superior to Son Heung Min. These two also play the same position.
The above salary difference also comes from the image making stage. Korean players appearing in public are no different from movie or stage stars. Regarding this, even coach Jurgen Klinsmann was surprised by the way Korean midfielder Lee Kang In related to the public.
Klinsmann once said: “I was surprised when Korean fans welcomed Lee Kang In as if he were a singer and not a player. But I advise Lee Kang In that he should stay awake. He must know what his main job is and not be overshadowed by the halo.
That is a huge difference between Korean football and other football platforms in the world. Korean football is number one in Asia in terms of entertainment, similar to English football in Europe.
When big clubs in Europe recruit Korean football stars, they don’t just recruit because of their professional ability but also because of the attraction and influence of these players on the Korean domestic market where European teams really want to exploit.
As a result, their transfer price is When Korean players come to Europe, their real value is much higher, often including the value of image exploitation.
As for expertise, it is clear that the level of Korean stars is no better than the average level of the top Asian players.
This does not only appear in Asian Cup 2023, but also spanning the past 64 years, coincides with a series of times when Korean football went empty-handed at the Asian Championship (the last time Korea won the Asian Cup was in 1960).
< p>When coach Klinsmann and previous coaches needed Korean players to carry the team and shine in difficult times to help the team escape, things Son Heung Min Lee Kang In or Hwang Hee Chang could not do.</ p>
Not to mention excessive wealth and fame also make some Korean football stars forget who they are and their main mission. Son Heung Min and Lee Kang In had a fight right before the Asian Cup semi-final against Jordan, leaving Korea weakened before even playing.
After that, instead of being a support for their teammates, these players becomes a worry for those around them.
That is also the downside of Korean football, the speed of professional development has not kept up with the speed of image development: Players think of themselves is a star (especially for young people like Lee Kang In) before they achieve professional success!
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