Son Heung-min Deletes Third Ever Twitter Post Following Angry Backlash From Fans Over NFT Promotion

Son Heung-min may be regretting joining Twitter after being made to delete his third ever post following an angry backlash from fans.

The Tottenham forward, 29, announced that he had joined Twitter on Wednesday.

He posted a picture of himself smiling, alongside the caption: "Hi everyone this is the real me, excited to open my twitter!!"

Son then used 'Twitter Voice' function to tell fans how excited he was to speak to them about "football, some of my hobbies and everything else in general".

However, less than 24 hours after opening his account, Son angered many of his followers by promoting a range of non-fungible tokens (NFT) through his account.

The Spurs forward quote-tweeted a post from 'The NFT Star', tagging Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar in his tweet.

After receiving an angry response from fans, Son quickly deleted the post.

hi everyone this is the real me, excited to open my twitter!!

안녕하세요, 손흥민입니다. 드디어 저의 공식 트위터를 오픈하게 되었습니다! 앞으로 이 곳에서 더 즐겁고 행복한 소식들로 팬 여러분들과 함께 할 수 있었으면 좋겠습니다:) 많이 기대해주세요 😉 pic.twitter.com/lDjulDI0ls

— Son Heung-min (@Sonny7) May 3, 2022

"Son came to Twitter to promote nft projects. Blocked," posted one unhappy fan.

Another fan wrote: "Son deadass started a twitter just so he can launch his NFT collection tomorrow."

However, other users defended the South Korea international from criticism.

"So Son joined Twitter to promote NFTs, literally who cares? Let him do what he likes," wrote one fan.

The relationship between NFT companies and football has come under intense scrutiny in recent months amid a rise of sponsorship deals with clubs and players.

Critics argue that NFTs are volatile financial assets and there are also concerns over the lack of regulation and environmental issues surrounding cryptocurrencies, the usual method for purchasing the digital artwork.

A number of high-profile names from the world of football have promoted NFTs this season – most notably former Chelsea captain John Terry, who received criticism for collaborating with the 'Ape Kids Club' NFT range.

Liverpool also came under fire after launching their own NFT range, which failed to attract significant interest from supporters.