Roster rifts, police raids and Son’s uncertain future leave South Korea at a crossroads

Son Heung-min and Cristiano Ronaldo are iconic No 7s, Premier League legends and international record-breakers. Now there is a surprising danger of them having something else in common: being a divisive presence in their national teams.

On 21 October, during a parliamentary committee meeting, politician Jeong Yeon-wook put a question to acting Korea Football Association (KFA) president Lee Yong-soo, that took a story out of the sports pages and into the national conversation. “It is said that recently, within the national team squad, players have been calling him not by his name but as ‘No 7’ or ‘that person’. Do you know who that is?” Lee then replied, “Are you referring to Son Heung-min?” Jeong went on: “So it appears to be true. … It has also been revealed that the national team’s leadership is causing discord and has broken down overall.” Lee declined to comment.

How has it come to this? Less than 18 months ago, Son was lifting the Europa League trophy as Tottenham Hotspur captain. That was his last act for the London club after a decade in the Premier League, during which he became a face of the world’s most popular domestic league and a huge star back home. Then came a move to Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer, one the 34-year-old said was made partly to prepare for the 2026 World Cup.

That tournament was a disaster, with a group-stage exit and a media boycott after unnamed reporters had mocked Son’s lack of military service. He started on the bench for the final game, a dismal defeat to South Africa. Since then, coach Hong Myung-bo and KFA president Chung Mong-gyu stepped down, were grilled by parliamentarians and then police raided KFA offices. All agree that it was a terrible summer for Korean soccer, but that seems to be where the shared opinions end.

Divisions between older and younger players are not uncommon in soccer but Korea’s situation is unusually complex. A colleague just a year older is addressed differently and with deference. Guus Hiddink saw this as an issue when he arrived as national team coach in 2001, famously forcing players to sit together when eating in a bid to make it possible for the juniors to shout instructions at their seniors during games.

This seems more serious – even more than at the Asian Cup in 2024 when there was an altercation over table tennis between Son and a group of younger players including rising star Lee Kang-in that resulted in the skipper dislocating a finger. Lee and Son soon made up but there is a bigger issue now. According to many reports, the class of 1996 are unhappy. Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich, FC Porto’s Hwang In-beom and Hwang Hee-chan, formerly of Wolverhampton Wanderers and now with Schalke 04, are all now senior players and, it seems, unhappy with the leadership in the team and after the World Cup wanted a fresh start with a new captain and new head coach.

But with interim Robert Moreno appointed in September until the end of November – the federation also has no president at the moment – Korean soccer is in a holding pattern. The Asian Cup, a tournament that the Taeguk Warriors have not won since 1960, is just weeks away.

“I’m tired physically and mentally,” Hwang In-beom said after a 0-0 draw with Venezuela on 2 October. “It’s been about nine years since I joined the national team, and from then until now, there are many things that need to change, in football and in many other areas, but it doesn’t seem to be happening.” At the same time Kim Min-jae complained about some in the team not pulling their weight. “Everyone needs to fight and compete together, but we didn’t do that. Look at our defenders; I felt sorry for them.”

As the window ended, there were reports that the three were ready to quit the national team before being persuaded not to by a KFA official – reports not denied by the association.

Fans have become frustrated at such stories and the oblique comments with no one actually stepping forward to say what the problems are and how they want them to be solved. Son is still popular in Korea, despite having left the country at 16, but his relationship with the media is not the same as that of his national team peers. Some fans believe that some reporters are stirring the pot in revenge for the media boycott at the World Cup.

Still, there is no denying that, at 34, Son is no longer an elite-level forward. There are still great moments, such as a free-kick against Uzbekistan on 6 October to score his 59th international goal, the most of any South Korean. There has long been a debate about Son’s best role in the national team – out wide or in the middle – but it is no longer unthinkable that the discussion will move towards whether he should start at all.

Unlike Ronaldo, Son does not seem the type to hang around until the bitter end or release lengthy statements. The 2030 World Cup is unlikely but helping the team win the Asian Cup, which is scheduled to kick off 7 January, would be a fine legacy. There is also the chance the tournament is delayed until 2028 due to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. That could be a blessing in disguise, to allow a divided team to come together, or the situation, bad as it already is, could become worse.