"Does he know me?" - Emerson Royal reveals Tottenham star Son Heung-min is a huge fan of Neymar and jokes about being Brazilian
Emerson Royal has revealed that Tottenham star Son Heung-min is a big fan of Neymar. The Brazilian has claimed his Spurs teammate often speaks about the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star and wanted to know if the former Barcelona man knew about him.
Son was the Golden Boot winner this season in the Premier League, along with Mohamed Salah. Both players finished with 23 goals after the South Korean scored twice on the final day of the season.
Emerson: "Heung Min Son, 'Neymar beni tanıyor mu?' diyor. Ona 'Son, tabii ki seni tanıyor. Sen onu nasıl takdir ediyorsan, o da seni takdir ediyor. Sen bir yıldızsın.' diyorum." https://t.co/KbwMX9nmA0
Speaking ahead of South Korea taking on Brazil in an international friendly, Emerson told ESPN that Son is a huge fan of Neymar. He added that the 29-year-old often talks about the PSG star and said:
"He (Son) 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 him and has great affection.
"He tells 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.'"
Tottenham's Emerson on 'Neymar fan' Son Heung-min
Emerson continued to talk about Son and spoke about how he oozes positive energy in the dressing room. The 23-year-old recalled the Korean speaking in Spanish and Portuguese to welcome the defender to Tottenham.
Son wants to get on Neymar's level 📈 https://t.co/3tfQIiSpd2
The full-back told ESPN:
"He 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 plays with everyone. We were trying everything we could to get him to score. At the end of the game, the coach was looking to see if Salah was scoring goals. We were saying: 'Son, you need to score one more goal.'
"Everyone is rooting for his success because he is a spectacular player and a sensational person. He's a guy who only deserves good things."
Neymar has confirmed that he is staying at PSG next season, while Son signed a new deal at Spurs last summer.