Son Heung-min reveals Jose Mourinho ‘attacked’ him in front of the squad

Son Heung-min has been one of Tottenham’s most important players over the past decade – but that still did not stop him being the subject of a telling off under Jose Mourinho.

The South Korea international joined Spurs back in 2015 from German side Bayer Leverkusen for a reported £22m.

That fee has proven to be money well spent by Spurs as Son has gone on to score 162 goals in 408 games for the North London club in all competitions.

In that time, despite personal achievements he has failed to win silverware as Spurs’ trophy drought continues, the closest he has come being runners-up medals for the League Cup and UEFA Champions League.

Son has played for several different managers during his time at Spurs and he was under the guidance of Mourinho between 2019 and 2021.

Mourinho has had trophy success at the overwhelming majority of the clubs he has managed, including Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Roma.

But Mourinho was sacked by Spurs on the eve of the 2021 League Cup final against Manchester City – had he been in charge for it, then who knows if Tottenham’s wait for a trophy which stretches back to 2008 might have been ended.

Reflecting on the management he received under the now Fenerbahce boss, Son has recalled a time when the Portuguese gave the attacker a dressing down in front of his Spurs team-mates.

Mourinho took Son off for suggesting he would not want to be involved in a more physical encounter, which Son was upset by.

However, the South Korea captain revealed that Mourinho text him afterwards to apologise and explain his thinking behind the telling off, which cleared the air between the two and made Son feel better as the Portuguese named him as Tottenham’s best player.

Speaking in an interview in his native Korean for EAFC, Son said: “One time Mourinho told me off during the game.

“‘I don’t think you want to be in a game with team like Burnley or Stoke (rough game)’ in front of all the players and I was so upset for it, I’m not even an 18-19 year old to be treated like that.

“Later after the match the coach texted me.

“‘I know you understand that it wasn’t my intention to target and hurt you. But I need to make sure that other players are not being lazy, and I need to show them by telling off the best player in the team, and for me, that player is you.’

“And after reading that text, I feel good.”