Last updated on December 17th, 2022 at 02:01 pm
Soccer stars Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham) and Neymar (30, Paris Saint-Germain) met on the ground after 9 years. After the match, the two exchanged uniforms in the locker room and posted a photo on their respective social media, showing their friendship.
On the 2nd, Neymar posted a picture taken with Son Heung-min on his Instagram story and tagged his ID. The photo that appears to have been taken in the locker room shows the two smiling broadly while holding each other’s uniforms in their hands. Neymar held up Son Heung-min’s jersey number 7, and Son Heung-min also held Neymar’s jersey number 10. Neymar also added a clapping hand emoticon to the post.
Son Heung-min responded by sharing a photo of Neymar on his Instagram story. Then, shortly after the match, he uploaded a video of him giving Neymar a high five and hugging him. Then, Neymar also scraped this post to his account. The Brazilian Football Association also posted a picture of them on their official account and wrote, “They respect and admire each other.”
This start-up match between Son Heung-min, who became the top scorer in the Premier League (EPL) and Neymar, who boasts the world’s highest ransom, drew attention from the start. In particular, it was the first time in 9 years since 2013 that the two faced each other on the ground, so the fans’ expectations were high. Heung-min Son was also said to have looked forward to meeting with Neymar, who had always shown his fandom.
Heung-Min Son’s teammate Emerson Royal, Brazil’s national teammate, said in an interview with ESPN Brazil that day, “Son Heung-Min is a big fan of Neymar. . He continued, “I told Son Heung-min, ‘Of course I know you. He respects you as you respect him. You’re a star too,'” he said, suggesting Neymar to exchange uniforms with Son Heung-min.
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ESPN reported that “Heung-Min Son is probably the player who is most curious about Neymar’s appearance in this evaluation match.” “Even the best striker in Asia has moments of fans.”
Meanwhile, on the same day, the Korean national football team (No. 29 in FIFA ranking) led by coach Paulo Bento lost 1-5 in an evaluation match against Brazil (No. 1 in FIFA ranking) held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. Son Heung-min tried to shoot with his left foot from inside the penalty box in the 12th minute of the first half, but was blocked by the defensive wall, and in the 37th minute of the second half, the left footed kick shot was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper’s save. Neymar scored two goals from both penalty kicks taken just before the end of the first half and early in the second half
Checkout: Brazil vs South Korea: Neymar nears Pele record in Brazil 5-1 win
