Tottenham's Heung-Min Son: 'I'm Not Like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo'

Tottenham Hotspur's Heung-Min Son has said he is "not like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo" and does not mind the lack of attention he is afforded despite his consistently fine performances. 

The 27-year-old has established himself as one of the best forwards in the Premier League in recent seasons after a slow start to life at Spurs following his 2015 move to north London from Bayer Leverkusen.

In the last three full Premier League seasons, he netted a combined 38 goals and provided 18 assists, and already in 2019-20 he has two goals and two assists in five Premier League appearances for Spurs.

Aside from Harry Kane, Son is arguably the most important player in Mauricio Pochettino's squad:

However, he is rarely talked of among the best players in the Premier League, let alone the world.

Asked if he is bothered about largely flying under the radar, Son said, per Daniel Herzog of Goal:

"No, not at all. I’m not like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. I can only do my best and try to help the team with it. If I can do that, I will be happy."

Before moving to Tottenham, South Korea international Son played for five seasons in the Bundesliga with Hamburg and Leverkusen.

German champions Bayern Munich visit north London on Tuesday to face Spurs in Group B of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League.

Bayern top the pool after beating Red Star Belgrade in the opening round of fixtures, while Tottenham could only draw at Olympiacos:

Assessing the difference between the German and English leagues, Son said "in the Premier League everything goes faster and is much more physical."

He said he initially struggled to adjust at Spurs and wanted to return to Germany, but manager Pochettino persuaded him to stay, per Herzog:

"I said I’d like to leave the club, but he really wanted me to do well at Tottenham. He gave me new self-confidence. The talks went so well that at some point I pushed aside my thoughts of change."

It was a smart move in the end given how he has flourished at Spurs, and Son will be key as they look to take a huge scalp by beating Bayern on Tuesday.