Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal has revealed Heung-Min Son’s love for Neymar in a recent interview.
Son is one of the two most recognisable players of the North London club alongside Harry Kane. The South Korean has gained cult hero status at the club in the 2015/16 season from German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen.
In those seven seasons, he has scored 131 goals from 325 games played, winning the Premier League golden boot in the just concluded season with his 23 league goals.
The forward is already a global name and is revered as the ultimate sportsman in his home country of South Korea but he has been revealed to be a big fan of Brazilian winger, Neymar.
Emerson is currently on international duty with La Canarinha as they play a series of friendly matches to prepare for the 2022 FIFA World Cup coming up in November in the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar.
He reunited with his Tottenham teammate as Brazil took on Tottenham on Thursday, in a game which ended 5-1. Before the game, however, Emerson spoke to the media and revealed Son’s love for Neymar.
Emerson told ESPN: “He keeps joking and says: ‘Imagine if I were Brazilian? Me, Neymar and I don’t know who else playing’.
“He is a big fan of Neymar and has great affection for him. He talks to me directly about Ney and asks: ‘Does he know me?’ I reply: ‘Hey Son, of course he knows you, man. Just as you admire him, he can admire you too. You’re a star, you play a lot of ball’.”
Emerson talks helping Son get Neymar’s shirt
After the match, Son and Neymar swapped shirts and took a picture to commemorate the meeting. Emerson mentioned that he was behind the exchange. “I even sent a message to Neymar and asked him to change shirts with Son in the Korea game because he is a big fan.
“He [Son] is an inexplicable figure, he has a giant heart and he is a cheerful guy. I tell him: ‘You’re Brazilian, you’re not Korean’.
“When I arrived at Tottenham, I didn’t speak English and he tried to talk to me in Spanish and Portuguese to make me feel good. In training he is dedicated, but he is cheerful and has fun with everyone.”
This comes after Son called the 30-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward the best player in the World in Korea’s pre-match press conference while also mentioning that he draws inspiration from him.
“Neymar is the best player in the world, and I think I am working hard to become the best player in the world,” Son said.
Neymar scored two of Brazil’s five goals in the game while Son had no goal contributions.
South Korea will turn their attention to Chile, who they face on June 6 while Brazil will prepare for Japan who they face on the same day.
