Tottenham and South Korea Heung-Min Son made a donation of around £70,000 to his country's armed forces prior to triumphing in this year's Asian Games.
Son, 26, went into the competition with special motivation to succeed.
Under South Korean law, all males under the age of 28 are obliged to undertake two years of military service.
A special dispensation for sporting stars, however, meant that Son would avoid a potentially harmful interruption to his career if he led South Korea to victory in the Games.
The winger duly complied, leading an Under-23 team to a 2-1 win in the gold medal match against Japan to land the top prize and win exemption from military services.