Cristiano Ronaldo is the player with the most goals in the world in 2023 at the professional level. But the Portuguese superstar was not honored in Asia.
Son Heung Min’s performance in the opening match of the 2023 Asian Cup
According to information published in Goal newspaper, Son Heung Min has just been honored with the Best Player award in Asia in 2023. The Tottenham star received 22.9% of the votes, surpassing compatriot Kim Min Jae (19 .54%) and Cristiano Ronaldo (17.06%). This is the 9th time Son Heung Min has won this award, and the 7th time in a row.
Son Heung Min won the Best Player award in Asia 2023
Thus, despite playing brilliantly in the Al Nassr shirt in 2023, Ronaldo still could not win. The Portuguese scored 54 goals in the last calendar year, making him the world’s top scorer at professional level. He scored 44 goals for Al Nassr Club in Saudi Arabia, along with 10 goals for the Portuguese national team in the EURO 2024 qualifiers.
However, Asian experts assess that the achievements Son Heung Min achieved at Tottenham and the English Premier League are much more difficult than what Ronaldo achieved in Saudi Arabia. In the 2022/23 season, Son Heung Min only scored 10 goals in the Premier League.
The Asian Footballer of the Year award is open to any player representing a country affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) or playing for a team under the jurisdiction of the AFC. In the past year or so, the Saudi Pro League has welcomed a series of “blockbusters”, starting with Cristiano Ronaldo, followed by Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Sadio Mane, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic… However, All were unable to “overthrow” Son Heung Min’s empire.
Son Heung Min surpassed candidate Ronaldo
Surprisingly, winning the Best Player award in Asia but in Korea, Son Heung Min lost to Kim Min Jae in the category of Best Korean Male Player in 2023. In the opening match of the 2023 Asian Cup , the Korean team won big but their captain failed, even receiving a yellow card for diving.
