Richarlison sends message to Tottenham team-mate Son Heung-min after helping Brazil beat South Korea

Richarlison sent a heartfelt message to his Tottenham teammate Son Heung-min following Brazil’s 4-1 thrashing of South Korea.

The Spurs duo faced their respective nations in Monday night’s round of 16 match, in which the Selecao advanced easily.

Richarlison was again in charge for Brazil and scored a beautifully crafted team goal. He comforted Son at the final whistle, hugged the South Korean winger – who had a rough night – and then wrote him a message on Twitter.

He wrote: ‘I know how much you fought to be here and for that you are a hero to your people.’

Son is adored in South Korea and carries the weight of a nation on his shoulders.

Richarlison’s note about how hard his club mate of 30 years had worked to be in Qatar was no doubt in reference to Son playing through the pain barrier.

Prior to the tournament, Son missed three games for Spurs after suffering a broken eye socket and undergoing surgery.

He wore a protective face mask for all of South Korea’s games, but understood that there were additional serious injury risks with any impact to the face.

Unsurprisingly, Son couldn’t perform at his best and didn’t score in Qatar, but Paulo Bento’s side at least made it through the group, thanks to a win over Portugal in their third game.

Spurs fans enjoyed the mutual respect between their two forwards on social media.

One wrote: “That lifetime Spurs bond for Sonny and Richarlison” while another posted: “Thanks for tweeting this sore for Sonny proud of you.”

Son will now be able to recover properly and take a well-deserved rest to be ready for the return of the Premier League after Christmas.

Richarlison’s World Cup dream lives on and he will prepare for the quarter-final against Croatia on Friday.