Cristiano Ronaldo is the top goal scorer worldwide in 2023 at the professional level. However, the Portuguese superstar was not honored in Asia.
According to information posted on Goal, Son Heung Min has just been honored with the Best Asian Player award for the year 2023. The Tottenham star received 22.9% of the votes, surpassing compatriot Kim Min Jae (19.54%) and Cristiano Ronaldo (17.06%). This marks Son Heung Min’s 9th time winning this award, and his 7th consecutive win.
Despite a stellar performance in Al Nassr’s colors in 2023, Ronaldo couldn’t secure victory. The Portuguese player scored 54 goals in the past calendar year, being the top goal-scorer globally at the professional level. He netted 44 goals for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, along with 10 goals for the Portuguese national team in the EURO 2024 qualifiers.
However, Asian experts assessed that Son Heung Min’s achievements at Tottenham and in the Premier League were much more challenging than what Ronaldo achieved in Saudi Arabia. In the 2022/23 season, Son Heung Min scored only 10 goals in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, since Harry Kane’s departure, the South Korean star has shone as the leader in the North London team’s attack. As of now, Son Heung Min has scored 12 goals in 20 matches in the new Premier League season. Thanks to this impressive breakthrough, he won the Best Asian Player award for 2023.
The Best Asian Player award is open to any player representing a nation affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) or playing for a club under the jurisdiction of the AFC. In the past year, the Saudi Pro League has welcomed a series of football stars, starting with Cristiano Ronaldo, followed by the likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Sadio Mane, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic… However, none of them could ‘overthrow’ the dominance of Son Heung Min.
It’s surprising that despite winning the Best Asian Player award, Son Heung Min lost to Kim Min Jae in the category of the Best Male Player in South Korea in 2023. In the opening match of the Asian Cup 2023, although the South Korean national team secured a convincing victory, their captain had a lackluster performance, even receiving a yellow card for pretend to fall.
