The soccer statistics platform Transfermarkt has sparked controversy once again with an SNS post addressing the Premier League's top scorer record. In particular, the exclusion of South Korean soccer icon Son Heung-min (Tottenham) from the 2021-2022 season's top scorer title has triggered outrage among fans both domestically and internationally.
The controversial post featured a graphic summarizing the Premier League top scorers over the past 20 seasons. From Thierry Henry in the 2005-2006 season to Mohamed Salah in the 2024-2025 season, a total of 20 names were listed by year, but notably, only the name of Salah was mentioned for the 2021-2022 season, which had co-winners and omitted Son Heung-min.
Both players scored 23 goals that season to share the top scorer title, but there was a crucial difference. Son Heung-min scored 23 goals solely from open play without any penalties, while Salah netted 9 goals from penalty kicks. Even though Son Heung-min earned the unique title of "the only top scorer without penalties" in Premier League history, his name was absent from the list.
This is not the first instance of such a case. Transfermarkt has a history of not fully recognizing co-top scorers. A notable example is from the 2010-2011 season. Dimitar Berbatov of Manchester United and Carlos Tevez of Manchester City both finished with 20 goals to share the top scorer title, but only Tevez appeared in the graphic.
The same was true in the 2018-2019 season. Although Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sadio Mané, and Salah shared the top scorer title, only Salah was included in the list. Ultimately, this selective mention has become a repeating pattern, leaving only the 'representative top scorer' for specific seasons. Moreover, Transfermarkt has not disclosed the criteria for compiling this list.
The 2021-2022 season, in which Son Heung-min became the top scorer, was a drama in itself. Ahead of the final round of the season, Son Heung-min had scored 21 goals and Salah 22 goals, putting Salah one goal ahead. In the final match, Tottenham faced the relegation-threatened Norwich City, and Son Heung-min’s teammates focused their passes throughout the game to support his quest for the top scorer title.
Ultimately, Son Heung-min, who scored the goal, ascended to the top scorer title. However, Son Heung-min's achievement is even more significant since he scored all his goals from open play with no penalty kicks. Son Heung-min is the only player in Premier League history to win the top scorer title without any penalty goals.
However, Transfermarkt omitted his name. It is difficult to dismiss this as a simple editing error, given the repeated omissions, the focus on certain players, and the cumulative pattern of "selective listing" without explanation, which undermines fans' trust.
A bigger problem is that such mistakes have become normalized, leading to what appears to be "arbitrary selection". In a data platform where fairness and accuracy are critical, if only specific players are intentionally highlighted while co-winners are continuously erased, it is a clear distortion.
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