Son Heung-min arrives in Korea with Golden Boot and a new t-shirt

Son Heung-min received a hero's welcome as he arrived in Incheon with his Golden Boot in hand and an interesting new t-shirt on Tuesday as he prepares to join the Korean national team for a series of friendlies starting next week.

Son Heung-min arrives at Incheon International Airport in Incheon on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Son Heung-min received a hero's welcome as he arrived in Incheon with his Golden Boot in hand and an interesting new t-shirt on Tuesday as he prepares to join the Korean national team for a series of friendlies starting next week.

Son was greeted by a crowd of fans and reporters at Incheon International Airport in Incheon on Tuesday. The Tottenham Hotspur forward stopped to pose for photos and held up the Premier League Golden Boot, which was being carried in a box by a member of his team.

Son tied with Liverpool's Mo Salah to win the Premier League Golden Boot, awarded to the top goal scorer, for the 2021-22 season. He scored two goals in Tottenham's 5-0 win over Norwich City on Sunday to draw even with Salah on 23 goals apiece.

Son is the first Asian footballer ever to win the league's top scoring title.

Son's Golden Boot wasn't the only notable thing about his arrival at Incheon on Tuesday. The Korean national team captain arrived at the airport wearing a white t-shirt tucked into blue jeans, a noticeable change from the recognizable fashion labels he tends to favor.

But Son's t-shirt was branded, sporting an unknown logo that appeared to say "NOS7."

According to multiple reports, the same brand, believed to be a reference to Son's shirt No. 7, was recently trademarked with the Korean Intellectual Property Office covering clothing, shoes and headwear. The appearance of Son in the shirt could mean that the Spurs star is preparing to launch his own clothing brand.

A website for NOS7 also exists at NOS7.com. The website landing page currently shows an image of a NOS7 clothing label with the text "Nothing, Ordinary Sunday" followed by "With precious time for yourself" and the date: June 17, 2022.

If Son is planning to launch his own brand, the NOS7 name puts him in direct competition with Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who already sells clothes, shoes, eyewear and even fragrances under his own CR7 brand.

Son returns to Korea ahead of four friendlies to be played over the next couple of weeks. Korea will first face Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul on June 2, before taking on Chile at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon on June 6 and Paraguay at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on June 10.

One more friendly will be played on June 14, but the opponent for that fourth match has not been announced yet.

After a few days of rest, Son will join the national team for training from Monday next week.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]