“Son Heung-min at the center of national team divisions, like Ronaldo?” ... The Guardian’s shocking analysis: “Now even his place in the starting lineup is in question”

[Financial News] A cold and unsparing assessment from a prominent British media outlet has been leveled at captain Son Heung-min (34, LAFC), once an untouchable symbol of South Korean football.
The startling analysis warns that Son could become a source of division within the national team, like Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, and says it is now necessary to take a hard look at whether he still merits a place in the starting lineup.
The British daily The Guardian focused on turmoil within South Korea’s national team and Son Heung-min’s standing in an article published on the 30th (Korea time) under the headline “Squad divisions, police searches, Son Heung-min’s uncertain future... South Korean football at a crossroads.”
The most striking part is the comparison between Son Heung-min and Ronaldo.
The Guardian said that Son, now in his mid-30s, is increasingly at the center of debate over his importance and role in the national team, and assessed that he risks becoming someone who causes divisions within the team, as Ronaldo has. A figure who was once the unquestioned focal point of South Korean football is now being identified as a potential flashpoint for generational conflict and leadership controversies.

The outlet pointed to recent allegations of internal squad discord as the backdrop. It highlighted claims raised during a National Assembly audit on the 21st that some national team players referred to Son not by name but as “No. 7” or “that person,” and also mentioned rumors of discontent surrounding key players born in 1996.
Following the “Ping-Pong Gate” controversy, which caused a stir after Son’s clash with Lee Kang-in, the outlet expressed concern that the allegations now being raised were a complex flashpoint involving not just friction between players but also the team’s generational mix, tactics and leadership.
Most painful of all is the questioning of Son’s performance and his status as a regular starter. While acknowledging that Son is a former Premier League Golden Boot winner and a star who has left the greatest legacy in the history of South Korean football, The Guardian bluntly said, “Now is the time to ask whether Son should be starting at all.”
The pointed assessment is that tactical change is inevitable if the strengths of young players such as Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae, who have developed in Europe, are to be maximized, and that past glory cannot automatically guarantee a starting place on the national team today.

It added that administrative paralysis, including police investigations and searches and seizures involving the Korea Football Association, is deepening the crisis of confidence both within and outside the national team.
Although many allegations have yet to be confirmed as fact, the very fact that the Korean national team’s failings have been aired in detail in an in-depth analysis by a leading British media outlet speaks to the severity of the current crisis. South Korean football, facing the major task of balancing generations and fostering unity, and Son Heung-min, the seemingly eternal No. 7, stand at a critical crossroads.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter