Tottenham captain son Heung-Min said on Saturday that he will leave the club this summer after a decade in North London.
The 33-year-old attacker joined the Premier League side of Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 and played more than 450 times for Spurs.
In May he lifted the Europa League trophy, but he had a bad season in general according to his high standards and struggled with a series of leg injuries.
“Before we start the press conference, I wanted to say that I decided to leave the club this summer,” said the South Korean reporters in Seoul, where Tottenham is tour on a pre-season.
“Respectfully the club helps me with this decision.”
Son, who scored 173 goals for Spurs, did not say where he intends to go and cut an emotional figure.
He was associated with a move to the MLS in the United States.
“It was the most difficult decision I made in my career. Such great memories. It was so difficult to make the decision,” Son said, flanked by the Nieuwe Tottenham Thomas Frank.
“I need a new environment to push myself. I need a little change – 10 years is a long time. As a child, 23 years old, I came to North Londs such a young age.
“I leave this club as an adult man, a very proud man.”
Son said in Korean that winning a European trophy – Tottenham's first European crown in 41 years – played “a major role” in his thinking.
“Winning a title in Europe had the feeling that I had achieved everything I could,” he said.
“I spent a lot of time thinking about whether I wanted to experience football in a different environment, and I had those conversations with myself time and time again.”
Frank, who came to Spurs from Brentford in June, paid tribute to the South Korean skipper.
“For me personally I would have liked to have worked with this fantastic person and player,” said the Dane, who took over from the fired Ange Postecoglou.
“He is a real Spurs legend in every aspect, one of the biggest players to play in the Premier League.”
Spurs will be confronted with Newcastle United in Seoul on Sunday, and Son is guaranteed a delicious reception for his home fans.
So far, Spurs has had a fairly quiet summer on the transfer market, with attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus from West Ham their only major acquisition.
Morgan Gibbs-White had been there from Nottingham Forest, but a relocation of £ 60 million broke.