Son Heung-min has revealed that he will be remaining at Tottenham Hotspur this summer, rather than explore a move to Saudi Arabia.
The South Korea international has just reached the end of his eighth campaign in North London, chipping in with 10 goals and six assists in the 2022-23 Premier League.
However, Spurs endured a hugely disappointing season, finishing in eighth position in the top flight and missing out on European qualification.
Although Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has been appointed as Spurs' new head coach, a number of players are facing uncertainty, including Harry Kane.
Nevertheless, Son has taken the step to ensure that there is clarity with his own future, a result of speculation regarding a switch to the Middle East.
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Earlier this week, it was claimed that Al-Hilal were prepared to pay in the region of £51m to secure the services of Son on a four-year contract.
Spurs allegedly had no interest in selling Son, regardless of his stance, yet the 30-year-old has taken the opportunity to state that he will be remaining in England's capital.
As quoted by South Korean journalist Sungmo Lee, Son said: "I have many things to do in the Premier League. Money doesn't matter to me now, and the pride of playing football, to play in my favorite league is important.
"I want to play more for Tottenham in the Premier League, I'll prepare well when I'm back to Spurs."
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While the development will be a boost to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, it is a blow to Saudi Arabian football and the PIF (Public Investment Fund).
In recent days, there has been a major show of intent regarding transfers, with the Saudi Pro League transfer record on the brink of being broken through Ruben Neves leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers for Al-Hilal in a £47m deal.
Chelsea also stand to benefit from Saudi Arabian signing a number of the players that they had made available for transfer, a consequence of desperately needing to generate funds to meet FFP criteria.
Those departures are expected to follow that of Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante, who will be announced as a new Al-Ittihad player in due course.
Darren Plant
