TOTTENHAM star Son Heung-min was cradled like a baby by a 7ft 2in former MMA star at an open training session earlier today.
The South Korean superstar and his team-mates took part in the session at the home of Anyang FC in Seoul.
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After training, Son was joined pitchside by Korean ex-MMA fighter Choi Hong-man.
The enormous wrestler competed in MMA between 2006 and 2016, and even fought arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time Fedor Emelianenko.
During the interaction, Choi picked Son up and began cradling him.
The Tottenham captain, not exactly small at 6ft, was in fits of giggles while being picked up, even sheepishly covering his face.
Spurs will take on Newcastle in front of 66,000 fans at Seoul World Cup Stadium, home of the South Korean national team, tomorrow.
The match is likely to be Son’s last for Tottenham, after he announced that he will be leaving the club after 10 years earlier today.
Sitting alongside manager Thomas Frank, Son began an emotional press conference by saying: “I’ve decided to leave the club in the summer.
“And respectfully, the club is helping me with my decision.
“So I just want to share this information before we start the press conference.”
On how he came to the decision, Son added: “It was the most difficult decision of my football career.
“I’ve been here ten years at a beautiful club with beautiful fans and having such amazing memories.
“And after all that, it was so hard to make this decision. But as I said, I feel like I need a new environment and to push myself.
“And to get more of me, I feel like I need a little bit of change. Ten years is a lot of time when you’re thinking about it.
He added: “I came to London as a kid. 23-years-old, a very young age, [and] a young boy came to London who even didn’t speak English.
“And [I’m] leaving this club as a grown man. This is a very, very proud moment.
“So I just wanna say thank you to all of the Spurs fans that gave me so much love.
“I felt like it was my home. But yeah, it was, it was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made.”
A MODERN DAY LEGEND
Son signed for Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 aged 23 in a deal worth around £22million.
The popular forward went on to score 173 goals in 454 appearances for the North Londoners, placing him fourth on the club’s all-time list of goalscorers.
Son was appointed club captain by former boss Ange Postecoglou in 2023.
The Tottenham legend went on to lift the Europa League trophy in May, as the club ended its 17-year drought.
On the timing of his White Hart Lane exit, Son said: “The goodbye is always also in a good timing. But I think it’s the right time to make this decision.
“I hope that everybody understands my decision and I hope that everybody respects that.”
Son has been strongly linked with a move to MLS side LAFC.
The switch would see him reunite with his predecessor as Spurs captain Hugo Lloris.
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