Son Heung-min (Tottenham) has failed to win the Asian Ballon d’Or for the eighth time in a row.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP), a Hong Kong-based media outlet, published an article titled ‘South Korea’s Son Heung-min is no longer Asia’s best soccer player. Football experts say Akram Afif has taken over the throne,” in which it revealed the results of the 2024 Titan Zhoubao (Titan Sports) Asian Player of the Year.
According to the SCMP, Son Heung-min garnered 16.8% of the votes in the Asian Player of the Year poll, which is voted on by 63 Asian soccer experts, finishing second to Afif, who received 18% of the votes. The 16.8% is his lowest vote share since 2015, 파워볼사이트 when he topped the poll with 16.3%.
Al Ain’s Soufiane Rahimi, who led the club to the Asian Champions League title in the 2023-2024 season, rounded out the podium with 11.4% of the vote.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Alnasr) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al-Hilal) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Chinese media group Sina Weibo created the Asia Ballon d’Or in 2013 to recognize the best players in Asia, inspired by the Ballon d’Or awarded by French soccer publication France Football. The award recognizes the best performances in Asian competitions throughout the year.
As arguably Asia’s biggest star, Son Heung-min has virtually monopolized the Asian Ballon d’Or. He has won the award nine times in the last 11 editions, and seven years in a row from 2017 to last year. Last year, he even beat out his idol Ronaldo.
This year, however, the trophy was handed to Afif during the Asian Cup. In February, Afif led Qatar to victory at the 2023 Asian Cup on home soil as part of the Qatar national team. He scored a hat trick in a 3-1 victory over Jordan in the semifinals before defeating South Korea in the final. He was the top scorer at the Asian Cup with eight goals.
He also scored 26 goals for Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars League in the 2023-2024 season, leading the club to the title.
Son Heung-min exploded for 17 goals and 10 assists in 35 English Premier League games in the 2023-2024 season, but trophies have eluded him for both his national team and club.
Asian pundits may have been more generous with his Asian Cup win. The award is based on performances between January 1 and August 15 of this year.
If South Korea had won the Asian Cup under Jürgen Klinsmann, the Asian Ballon d’Or would have been won by Son Heung-min. In the Chinese New Year league, it’s easier to win the Asian Ballon d’Or if you play in the second half of the season than the first.
Afif is the third player to win the award, following Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow) in 2013 and Shinji Okazaki (Leicester City) in 2016. He is the first West Asian to win the award.
Afif was also one of three finalists for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Player of the Year award. He is up against South Korean fullback Seol Young-woo (Tsubena Zvezda) and Jordanian forward Yazan Al-Naimat (Al-Arabi).