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| Son Heung-min, who won the Asian Ballon d'Or in 2025. He won 10 awards, the most ever. Source =Tanzhoubao |
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| Lee Kang-in and Cristiano Ronaldo ranked second and third in the Asian Ballon d'Or, respectively. Source =Tanzhoubao |
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Hong Myung-bo's captain Son Heung-min (LAFC) once again stood tall as the best soccer player in Asia.
Chinese media 'Titanzhou Bao' (Titan Sports) announced on the 13th that Son Heung-min was selected as the best Asian soccer player at the 'Sports Week 2025 Asian Golden Globe Awards'. The "Asian Golden Globe Awards" were established in 2013 by the French media "Titanzhou Bao" at the Ballon d'Or, awarded by the French media "French Football". The award is given to players who play in Asian Football Confederation (AFC) countries or AFC clubs. Forty-two judges representing AFC member states and regions and 22 specially invited international judges voted based on the performance of the players from August 16, 2024 to July 16, 2025.
The judges' choice was Son Heung-min. Son Heung-min scored 146 points, beating his teammates Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain, 105 points) and Son Heung-min's childhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nasr, 91 points) by a wide margin. Fourteen of the 64 players ranked Son first (six points). Lee Kang-in and Ronaldo each got eight first-place votes.
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| A match warm-up match between the Korean national soccer team and Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 10th, Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in are trying to break through. Sangam = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.10.10/ |
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Starting with his first win in 2014, Son has won the Asian Ballon d'Or 10 times so far this year. It won the award in 2014, 2015, and seven consecutive years from 2017 to 2023. The award went to Keisuke Honda in 2013, Shinji Okazaki (Japan) in 2016, and Akram Afif (Qatar) last year when Son Heung-min did not win the award. Son Heung-min, who unfortunately ranked second last year, regained the top spot for the first time in two years. He has set a new record of winning the podium for 12 consecutive years since 2014. This means that he has been consistent without any ups and downs.
Judges praised Son Heung-min for leading him to the 2026 North-China World Cup finals as a South Korean captain and winning the European Europa League last season with his former team Tottenham. Steve Price, the Seoul correspondent for `Titanzhoubao,' said, `Son Heung-min has achieved what only a few can accomplish. Led Tottenham to victory in major European tournaments. It was the first European championship in the club's history since the 1980s. He is not only the leader of the team, but also the spiritual symbol and true legend of a new generation."
Middle East soccer expert John McAuley praised Son as the `best star in Asia.'
Based on the French Ballon d'Or focusing on "European football," Son's 2025 Asian Ballon d'Or award is similar to that of Lionel Messi (Inter Miami). At the end of their European careers, both players received groundbreaking team honors as the team's leaders and were well received by a number of judges, he said. The Asian player who led the team to victory by playing the captain role of a European club is over the limit.
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| 스포츠조선 DB |
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| 2025 Asian Ballon d'Or voting details. Source =Tanzhoubao |
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"Titanzhou Bao" is the first Asian Ballon d'Or to be ranked in the top five in the 2000s for Lee Kang-in, who finished second after Son Heung-min. Lee Kang-in ranked 10th in 2023 and 9th in 2024, respectively. He is not the main player of Paris Saint-Germain, but he is the second Asian player to win the Champions League after Park Ji-sung in 2009 last season.
'Monster Defender' Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) received 32 points, ranking 11th after Riyad Mahrez (Al Ahli, 75 points), Karim Benzema (Al-Itihad, 73 points), Salem Al-Dausari (Al Hilal, 72 points), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton, 72 points), Akram Afif (Al-Sad, 34 points), Abdukodir Kusanov (Man City, 32 points), and Abosbek Faizulayev (Istanbul Bashakshehir, 32 points). Veteran midfielder Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), who joined the A Match Century Club against Brazil on the 10th, was ranked 22nd with 10 points.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
