It seems that the performance of Korean players last season was not world-class.
'Globe Awards', which is a world-class soccer awards ceremony, announced the nominees for the men's player of the year at the 2025 Awards on its official channel on the 20th (Korea time). The Globe Awards have been held since 2010 as a football awards ceremony hosted annually with the European Club Association (ECA) and the European Player Agents Association (EFAA) and organized by an organization called Globe Soccer. The winner is selected by fan and expert voting in a way that awards the player who has performed best during the year.
The list of best men's players for the 2025 Globe Awards announced this year included many of the world's top players, including Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. It was a spectacular list that included all the stars who now form the heart of European football, including Elling Holan, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Harry Kane and Florian Birtz. ㅊ
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| Photo=Globe Awards |
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However, with a total of 25 players on the list, none of them were South Korean. Son Heung-min, who has been consistently active in Tottenham and the Premier League for a long time, has also been excluded from the candidate list. It is a pity considering that Son Heung-min has done a remarkable job in Tottenham's Europa League victory despite suffering from injuries last season.
The names of Lee Kang-in, who contributed to PSG's treble, and Kim Min-jae, who won the German Bundesliga for the first time in Bayern Munich, were not seen. It has been shown that the performance of Korean players has not been at a world-class level in recent years.
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| 사진=발롱도르 |
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| 사진=발롱도르 |
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This is not just a result of one award ceremony, but a trend that has been repeated in other global football awards recently. Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, and Lee Kang-in were not named in this year's Best Eleven FIFA World Best Eleven candidate and FIFPro World Best Eleven candidate. Following last year, there were no Korean players in the final category of the Ballon d'Or this year.
In the history of 30 final candidates at the Ballon d'Or, Son Heung-min has been nominated in 2019 and 2022, and Kim Min-jae has been nominated in 2023. Son Heung-min was included in the candidate group in 2019, 2020, and 2022 in the World Best Eleven section, which was once hosted by FIFA and FIFPro, but the history of Korean players producing candidates has not continued since then. In the Globe Awards category, there are no more candidates after Kim Min-jae was named in 2023.
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Ghana at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 18th. After the game, Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae are greeting their fans. Sangam = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.11.18/ |
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It's not just a problem in Korea. There are no Asian players in the awards category that can build a global reputation, including the Globo Awards. This is because the evaluation toward Asian soccer is not yet high, and it is also evidence that there are still many areas where Asian soccer needs to grow. Perhaps players such as Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae, who were previously listed as candidates, have written history that cannot be encountered.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
