In an interview in Beijing on July 5, Son confronted questions about whether he has reached the standard of a world-class player. He confessed, "I agree with my father that I really am not that level of player yet."
Despite scoring twice against Norwich in the final round of the league and sharing the Premier League Golden Boot with Salah with 23 goals, Son became the first Asian player to win the award and only the third in the history of Tottenham Hotspur to do so. However, his father, Sun Xiongzheng, does not see him as a "world-class" player. According to Sun, he had to play consistently for a top club to earn the title.
At a recent event, when asked about his father's statement that he is not yet a world-class player, Son responded, "I feel the same way and I agree with my father. If I was a world-class player, then the controversy would not exist. The fact that there is still controversy means that there is still room for me to improve and I will do my best to reach world class."
Talking about being in the same group as Crow in the upcoming World Cup group stage, Son said, "All opponents are equal for me, Ghana and Uruguay are equally difficult to deal with. I didn't go to the World Cup to see Cairo, and meeting Cairo won't increase my expectations for the World Cup. All we can do is to show our best form."
