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Son Heung-min has been named the best Asian player of the past year for the seventh time in a row.
The South Korean and Tottenham captain has won the Best Footballer in Asia award for 2023. Son has scored 27 goals for club and country in the last year.
Son is currently on international duty with South Korea at the Asia Cup. They recently defeated Bahrain (3-1) in their first game before facing Jordan and Malaysia.
However, the Tottenham forward has already made a strong start to 2024 by winning the individual award, defeating Cristiano Ronaldo, despite the latter’s blockbuster move to the Saudi Pro League.
The Best Footballer in Asia award is open to any player who represents an AFC-affiliated country or plays for a team based in an AFC-governed territory.
Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Karim Benzema, and N’Golo Kante competed for the award after joining the Saudi Pro League.
‘Our captain,’ Tottenham wrote on X, formerly Twitter, to announce Son’s latest category win.
“Congratulations to Son Hung-min for winning the Best Footballer in Asia award for the seventh year in a row!”
While it would be surprising for a player who has only been in the AFC for about five months to win the award, Ronaldo is expected to challenge Son for the honour.
However, the Portuguese legend, who has won football’s most prestigious individual award, the Ballon d’Or five times, came nowhere near beating Son.
Son Heung-min has done it AGAIN
The South Korean captain won for the seventh time in a row, receiving 22.9% of the vote.
Son has now won it nine times, including in 2014 and 2015, with only two other players winning the award – Japan legend Keisuke Honda in 2013 and compatriot Shinji Okazaki in 2016.
International colleague Kim Min-jae, who scored an amazing 19.54 percent, joined him on the stage.
Kim had a fantastic 2023, helping Napoli win their first Serie A title in 33 years before joining Bayern Munich for £43 million and signing a five-year contract in the summer.
Ronaldo then finished third with 17.06 percent of the vote, good for a spot on the podium, but it was a rare bronze medal for the legendary forward.
One might argue that Son and Kim are better than their rivals. However, the former Manchester United forward has not stopped showing off for Al-Nassr.
In 18 Saudi Pro League games for Al-Nassr, Ronaldo has 20 goals and 9 assists. He has added three more goals in the Asian Champions League.
