‘I don’t really want to’ – Heung-min Son snubs Lionel Messi talk ahead of blockbuster MLS opener

Los Angeles FC star Heung-min Son refused to talk about Lionel Messi ahead of their side’s MLS opener this weekend.

Son‘s LA franchise face 2025 MLS champions Inter Miami to kick off the 2026 campaign in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The South Korean sensation made the move stateside from Tottenham over the summer and enjoyed a prolific second half to the season as he scored nine goals across 10 outings.

And as LAFC gear up for their meeting with the Herons in their opening game of the season, conversation turned to Messi.

The footballing icon was named MLS MVP for his role in Inter Miami’s MLS Cup triumph as Javier Mascherano‘s side claimed a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in December, a match in which the 2022 World Cup winner provided a brace of assists.

But Son was keen to avoid talk about Messi ahead of their showdown, instead focussing on the collective rather than individual effort.

“I don’t want to talk about Messi because, probably, everyone’s talking about him enough – and we all know that he’s the best player and such a big influence on their game,” Son said.

“But I don’t look at a football as an individual thing, and he’s obviously on a different level to any other player.

“So I’m looking forward to that game – LAFC against Inter Miami, everybody is looking forward to it.

“I’m looking forward to playing as a team and hopefully winning and celebrating as a team – that’s how I separate the game.”

Nice one, Sonny

Son also pointed out that LAFC will look to maximise home advantage on matchday one of the 2026 season.

The Black and Gold boasted the second-best home record in the Western Conference in the regular season in 2025, picking up 35 points across their 17 games in front of their fans.

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“Obviously, home games are always the best feeling and last year, especially when I joined, we had a lot of away games which was a little confusing,” Son admitted.

“And we also had to travel a lot. But even with that experience I enjoyed it. There was a lot of flying, visiting a lot of different cities which I really liked.

“But obviously I want to have as many home games as possible – it’s very important that we finish as high as we can so that in the playoffs we can have a home advantage.”

Sun’s out, Son’s out

Son continued that he is happy to open the season in front of the LAFC fans, stating: “I’d love to visit any other city too – I love new experiences and I love new challenges.

“The only thing I don’t like is the cold. LA has been very cold, so yeah, I was very surprised.

“John [Thorrington] told me that every day the sun is shining, nice weather. Today and the last couple of days has been a bit shocking, It was a big surprise.”

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LAFC will hope to better their 2025 playoff campaign, having crashed out to eventual runners-up Vancouver Whitecaps on penalties in the Western Conference semi-finals.

Son isn’t the only high-profile transfer to MLS in recent months as striker Josh Sargent closes in a move to Toronto FC.

The Norwich and USA striker is set to head to Canada in a deal worth an initial £17million, plus £3.7m in potential add-ons.

It will be a record move, taking that title off of Son, whose switch to LA for £20m had been the most expensive MLS transfer previously.