Son Heung-min Ties Vela's 15 Season Assists, Goes for LAFC Record vs. New York City FC

Son Heung-min has 15 MLS regular-season assists, matching Vela's LAFC record. Adding one assist in the New York City match at 8:30 a.m. KST on the 18th would set a new record.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

Three-line summary

Son has 15 MLS regular-season assists, tying the LAFC single-season record for most assists set by Vela in 2019.
The New York City match is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. KST on October 18 at Citi Field in New York.
Son's 2026 guaranteed compensation is $11,152,852, second in MLS and about 40% of No. 1 Messi's.

On October 15 KST, LAFC beat Austin FC 3-1. Son scored 1 goal and recorded 2 assists. LAFC official match reviewshows that his regular-season assists rose from 13 before the match to 15 that day. The 15 matches the club's single-season regular-season assist record set by Carlos Vela in 2019. The number no one has surpassed in 7 years is now 1 away.

Son's 15 assists tie Vela's 2019 record

According to LAFC records, Son's 2026 regular-season assists are 15 (as of 16:00 KST, October 17, 2026). If one more official assist is added in the New York City match, it becomes 16 assists to set a new club record. The count covers only MLS regular-season matches, so assists from other competitions and playoffs are not added. Record comparisons should also be made only on this basis.

The two seasons differ in nature. Vela's 2019 season featured 31 matches, 34 goals, and 15 assists. The 34 goals were the MLS single-season scoring record at the time, and he won both the MVP and the scoring title that year. Son recorded 4 assists in the first half alone against Orlando in April. Four assists in one half is the second such feat in league history, after Messi.

Son left Tottenham for LAFC in August 2025. At Tottenham, he scored 173 goals in 454 competitive matches. His first regular season with LAFC was 10 matches, 9 goals, and 3 assists, and his debut free-kick goal against FC Dallas was voted MLS 2025 Goal of the Year. This year his assists have grown from 3 to 15, five times as many. However, note that he joined midway through last season and played only 10 matches.

New York City match: October 18, 8:30 a.m., Citi Field

The match kicks off at 8:30 a.m. KST on the 18th at Citi Field in New York. Local time is 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, the 17th. Sports Kyunghyang reports and the LAFC press release on OurSports Central share the same schedule.

There are three things to watch before the match: whether Son's 16th assist will come, whether his partnership with Denis Bouanga can carry on the momentum from the Austin game, and the playoff qualification and seeding race for both teams.

Son Heung-min's $11,150,000 salary, second in MLS guaranteed compensation

MLS Players Association (MLSPA) data show Son's annualized guaranteed compensation for the 2026 season is $11,152,852 (as of the April 16, 2026 roster). This is the base salary of $10,368,750 plus annualized signing bonuses and other items, a difference of $784,102. He ranks second in the league. Messi's $28,333,333 at No. 1 is 2.54 times Son's.

Top 5 2026 MLS annualized guaranteed compensation (as of April 16, 2026 roster)

Rank	Player	Club	Guaranteed compensation (USD)
1	Lionel Messi	Inter Miami	28,333,333
2	Son Heung-min	LAFC	11,152,852
3	Rodrigo De Paul	Inter Miami	9,688,320
4	Irving Lozano	San Diego FC	9,333,333
5	Miguel Almirón	Atlanta United	7,871,000

Change the criteria and the order changes too. Sports Illustrated ranked Almirón above Lozano based on base salary. The table above uses MLSPA guaranteed compensation. Vela's 2020 season total compensation of $6,300,000 was the highest in MLS at the time, and Son's guaranteed compensation this year is 1.77 times that (11,152,852 ÷ 6,300,000).

Compensation rankings are as of April 16, so contract changes as of October are not reflected. Guaranteed compensation also differs from advertising income or take-home pay.

Son, at age 34, has tied the club record that Vela set in the year he won MVP. The margin to surpass it is only 1 assist.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What are the conditions for Son Heung-min's assist record?

Son has 15 MLS regular-season assists, tying Vela's 2019 single-season LAFC record for most assists (as of 16:00 KST, October 17, 2026). Adding one official assist to reach 16 would set a new club record. Playoff and other competition assists are not included.

Q. What time is Son's match against New York City FC?

The match is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. KST on October 18, 2026, at Citi Field in New York. Local time is 7:30 p.m. on the 17th.

Q. Where does Son's salary rank in MLS?

According to MLSPA data (April 16, 2026 roster), his annualized guaranteed compensation of $11,152,852 ranks second behind Messi. His base salary is $10,368,750.

Related official sites

LAFC official website — check the match schedule and official match reviews
LAFC official Son Heung-min player profile — season records and player information
MLS official website — league standings and match results
MLS Players Association official compensation data — raw player-by-player base salary and guaranteed compensation data

Representative image · File photo · Not a photo from the match described in this article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (dom fellowes from UK), CC BY 2.0