JUST IN – Spurs skipper Son Heung-min sent a three-word appreciation message to Tottenham and all fans as he claims the best footballer in Asia ahead of Kim and Christiano Ronaldo.
Heung-Min Son has been named the Best Footballer in Asia for the seventh year in a row!
A prize to honour the best Asian footballer or footballer to play in Asia, Sonny took 22.9 per cent of the vote to claim the award for the seventh year on the spin and the ninth time in his career as he edged compatriot Kim Min-Jae (Bayern Munich), who finished second with 19.54 per cent, and Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), who finished third with 17.06 per cent.
Our number seven has now taken the title in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 – in 2016, he finished third.
Skipper for Club and country, Sonny had an unforgettable 2023. Having led his South Korea to the Round of 16 at the World Cup last winter, our number seven has since entered the Premier League’s ‘100 club’, hit 150 goals in Lilywhite and become our captain.
After enduring a difficult end to 2022, Sonny hit nine goals in the second half of the season as began to find his form again, and that included an absolute pearler against Brighton in March which saw him become the first ever Asian player to score 100 goals in England’s top flight.
In the summer, he was appointed our captain our of Men’s First Team by Ange Postecoglou and he hasn’t looked back since. Hitting a hat-trick away at Burnley in September, he then scored a brace at Arsenal, becoming our first player to score a brace at the Emirates. He also scored his 150th goal for the Club that day.
And the goals have continued to fly in for Sonny since with him having registered 12 in just 20 Premier League appearances this campaign, while he has also recorded five assists. He now has 157 goals to his name in Lilywhite – just two behind Cliff Jones, who is the fifth-highest scorer in our history – and has 115 goals in England’s top flight, putting him 23rd in the competition’s all-time list.
The forward is currently away on international duty, skippering the Korea Republic at the 2023 Asian Cup.
