Son Heung-min celebrates with Mark Delgado and Denis Bounaga after a late goal in his MLS debut match, a 2-2 draw against Chicago Fire FC.

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No one would claim LAFC’s Son Heung-Min is of the same caliber of player as Lionel Messi, the Argentine who is almost universally regarded as the best player alive and arguably as the greatest of all-time.

At best, Son is the best player ever produced by South Korea, a nation whose relatively limited soccer history is not all that dissimilar to the United States. A good like-for-like comparison might be Christian Pulisic, a star who has exceeded at the elite levels in Europe, but was not in the running for global Best XI honors even at his peak, let alone an all-time Bext XI that would surely include Messi.

That said, Son’s early days as a member of LAFC – he only debuted on Aug. 9 – has quickly painted a picture of what the ideal MLS star signing of the present and future might look like in terms of improving the product on the field and visibility off of it. And it’s a pretty significant contrast from Messi’s MLS presence.

Embracing The Attention

Son has already seemingly done as many interview sessions in three weeks as Messi has averaged over an entire season.

It’s at least four total with English language media: His introductory press conference, two availabilities with MLS Season Pass post game, and one hybrid post-game availability vith all LAFC media covering his debut match at Chicago.

Before you cite a language barrier (Son speaks pretty fluent English after spending a decade in London with Tottenham Hotspur), remember this: Miami is arguably the most bilingual market in the league alongside Los Angeles. There is at least as much Spanish media covering both teams as there is English.

Son is also moving merchandise at a greater level relative to expectations than perhaps anyone who has ever graced the league before. According to LAFC president an d general manager John Thorrington, Son’s jersey was the highest-selling replica shirt of any sport anywhere on earth for the first week after his signing became official. Yes, there were similar rushes to snap up the kits of Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and others upon their MLS arrivals. But Son’s ranks right up there, and is maybe more surprising.

Then there’s the visual spectacle of watching a player who visibly enjoys being the face of the franchise. From signing autographs with fans after games and practices to imparting insight to inexperienced teammates, Son appears to have come to the league fully ready to embrace the fact he would be more of a team focal point among local supporters than he ever was at Tottenham Hotspur. To be clear, it’s not Messi that has shirked these duties. But they always look a bit more like a chore for him.

True To Themselves

You can’t players (or any people) something they’re not. Messi has always been a more introverted with the public, tolerating the stardom that accompanies his footballing career rather than embracing it. While maybe it’s fair to wonder just how much brighter Messi’s star could shine if he had Cristiano Ronaldo’s charisma and look, that’s not who Messi is, and that’s OK.

Further, it’s completely fair to argue that Messi has to be more calculated with his public interactions because his profile is that much higher. There is probably no amount of media interviews or autograph signing that would ever fully satiate the demand. The only place Son might encounter a similar dynamic is in South Korea.

And there’s always the chance this is merely the honeymoon period for Son, though it’s hard to encounter a fanbase anywhere who has tired of him. He’s been voted his nation’s most popular athlete for eight consecutive years.

That said, hopefully more MLS teams will take note of Son’s disposition when they consider future similar signings and put an emphasis on those who have similar traits. Ibrahimovic and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez were probably similar in some ways. So was David Bekcham when he came to the LA Galaxy. So Son is not a completely unique case.

Messi is such an enormous star that his personality doesn’t matter all that much. But there’s only one Messi.

Too often for the league and its clubs’ purposes, other stars come to MLS after lengthy European careers in part because of the more normal and anonymous life it provides. For example, according to The Athletic, Vancouver Whitecaps signing Thomas Müller spurned FC Cincinnati because of concerns he’d be turned into a marketing machine with the city’s German-American community, and instead opted for a club where the main focus would be on the field.

There’s a place for those players in MLS, too. But the more players like Son who come to MLS ready to fully embrace all the possibilities a new culture and still relatively new league provides, the better it will become.