Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min has expressed his “love” for team-mate Rodrigo Bentancur, despite the Uruguay midfielder making an alleged racist remark about the South Korean over the summer.
The former Juventus player was charged last Thursday with an alleged misconduct breach by the Football Association in relation to a media interview.
In the clip, which emerged in June, the host of a Canal 10 show asked Bentancur to show the shirt of a Spurs player, with the 27-year-old allegedly replying: “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”
While an apology from Bentancur was swiftly forthcoming, due to this being an “aggravated breach”, if an independent regulatory commission panel upholds the FA charge, he could be suspended for six to 12 domestic matches, the PA news agency understands.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s Europa League home tie against Qarabag, Son said: “At the moment, because of the FA process, I can’t say much about it.
“But I love Rodrigo, I love him. We’ve a lot of good memories, we started playing together when he joined (in January 2022).
“He knew. He apologised straight afterwards when we had holiday. I was at home. I didn’t even realise what was going on. He sent me a long message and you could feel it was coming from his heart.
“When we came back for pre-season, he felt really sorry and he almost cried when he apologised publicly and personally as well. He felt like he was really sorry. We are all human and all make mistakes and we learn from it.
“I love Rodrigo. I love him, I love him. He knows he made a mistake but I’ve no problem at all with him. We move on as a team-mate and friend and as a brother. We move on together.”
Son is one of only two players along with Ben Davies left at Tottenham from the squad which reached the Champions League final in 2019.
Defeat in Madrid to Liverpool extended the club’s trophy drought and it now stands at 16 years, but Son is determined to end the wait for silverware this season.
“Yeah, it’s a dream. There is no hiding this. That’s what we work for,” Son insisted.
“Obviously, we are looking for another big competition that everybody wants to win. It’s going to be tough, a tough competition, a lot of games and a lot of travelling, which makes it even harder.
“We’ve just got to be ready and take it seriously the competition, because it’s a massive competition.”
Son also reflected on his contract situation after he entered the final 12 months of his Tottenham deal.
Spurs hold the option to extend his terms by a further year and plan to activate it, PA understands, but Son added: “We haven’t talked (about) anything yet. It was very clear for me, I’m very focused for this season.
“At this age, every second is like a goal, especially this season, we are in a lot of competitions, it feels like I’m taking even more care about this. I’m just fully focused on this situation and this year.
“I just want to win something that everybody in this club and these players and all around deserves. That’s what I’m working for.
“In the future, you never know what’s going to happen, but I will make sure I give everything for this club. It’s almost 10 years that I give everything. We’ll see what happens.”
Son also talked up 17-year-old Mikey Moore, who is expected to get more minutes on Thursday night.
“If I can help him a little bit with advice, then I’m always open to it,” Son revealed.
“I enjoy talking to him. He’s a fantastic boy and then I’m definitely sure that he can be a fantastic player. There’s no doubt because he has such amazing quality.”