Explosive Impact of Son Heungmin's Signing for LAFC
Debut Match Ticket Prices Soar Fivefold... MLS Headquarters Also Paying Close Attention
Major League Soccer (MLS) club Los Angeles FC (LAFC) is already seeing significant benefits from signing Son Heungmin (33).
On August 15 (Korean time), Yonhap News reported that LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington stated in an interview with UK-based TalkSport, "Son Heungmin's jersey has been the top-selling jersey across all sports worldwide over the past week."
Thorrington explained that since the announcement of the signing, Son Heungmin's jersey has outsold those of global football stars such as Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), as well as NBA superstars like LeBron James (LA Lakers) and Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors).
Son Heungmin is taking a commemorative photo at the Los Angeles FC (LAFC) press conference held on the 6th (local time) at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles (LA), USA. Photo by Yonhap News
On August 7, Son Heungmin parted ways with Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League (EPL) after ten years and donned the LAFC jersey. To acquire Son, LAFC paid a transfer fee of $26.5 million (approximately 36.8 billion KRW), the highest in MLS history. With this massive investment, LAFC has already begun to see commercial returns just one week after the signing, raising expectations for recouping their investment.
The impact of Son Heungmin has not been limited to jersey sales. Ticket prices for LAFC home games have also soared. For the match against San Diego FC on August 31, which is likely to be Son's home debut, ticket prices have skyrocketed from the regular price of $300 (about 420,000 KRW) to as much as $1,500 (about 2.1 million KRW). TalkSport reported, "The LAFC ticket market has been in turmoil since Son Heungmin joined the club."
The MLS headquarters is also reportedly paying close attention to the "Son Heungmin effect." This is because the addition of Son, one of Asia's top stars, aligns with the league's strategy to expand its reach not only within the Asian community in the United States but also in the global market. Experts have analyzed that "Son Heungmin will play a key role in increasing LAFC's club value and strengthening the MLS global brand."
However, Thorrington emphasized, "We will not judge the success of Son Heungmin's signing based solely on commercial results." He added, "We expect both team performance and commercial success. Ultimately, it comes down to whether we can lift the trophy."
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