The Asian Footballer of the Year award has been given by a Chinese magazine since 2013 to players playing for national teams or clubs in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). According to the format, the award is voted on by 42 experts from 42 AFC confederations and 21 international experts. Each judge selects the five best players, in order the first place gets 6 points, the second 4 points, the third 3 points, the fourth 2 points and the fifth 1 point. The player with the highest total score wins the award. As of 2023, only three players have won the award: Keisuke Honda, Shinji Okazaki and Son Heung-min. Keisuke Honda was honored in 2013, Shinji Okazaki won the award in 2016 and Son Heung-min is the current record holder for the most wins with 9 times being named.
According to the voting results, Ronaldo received 109 points, ranking fourth in the 2024 vote. The player currently playing for Al Nassr was behind Akram Afif (181 points), Son Heung-min (168 points) and Soufiane Rahimi (115 points). In the 2023-2024 season, Ronaldo scored 44 goals in 45 club matches, but the fact that Al Nassr did not win any titles made him not highly appreciated. In a broader sense, this is also the second consecutive year that Ronaldo "missed" this award despite being on the final nomination list. In 2023, Ronaldo finished third with 172 points, behind Son Heung-min (231 points) and center-back Kim Min-jae (197 points).
Ronaldo failed to win the Asian Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year voted by Titan Sports magazine.
Notably, by topping the voting list, Akram Afif became the first West Asian player to be honored. At the same time, the Qatari striker ended Son Heung-min's 7-year streak of winning this award.
According to Titan Sports , Asia had the 2023 Asian Cup earlier this year, so the voting experts relied heavily on this tournament to evaluate. In the journey of the Qatar team to win the championship, Akram Afif was the most outstanding player and won the title of Top Scorer (8 goals). In important matches against Tajikistan (group stage), Palestine (round of 16), Iran (semi-finals) and Jordan (final), Akram Afif scored. Notably, in the final match of the 2023 Asian Cup, Akram Afif scored a hat-trick against Jordan, helping the Qatar team win 3-1. In addition, at the club level, Akram Afif also scored 26 goals in the Qatar Stars League, helping Al Saad win the 2023-2024 season.
Akram Afif wins award for brilliant performance at Asian Cup 2023
Ronaldo's team accused of being favored in AFC Champions League
Early tomorrow morning (October 23), Ronaldo's team Al Nassr will play in the AFC Champions League against Esteghlal FC (Iran). However, instead of playing at Esteghlal FC's home ground, the match has been moved to a neutral ground in Dubai (UAE). The top organization of Asian football explained that this was the right thing to do, to ensure the safety of famous players.
The AFC's decision is being protested by Indian fans when in early October 2024, the AFC stripped Mohun Bagan of the right to participate in the AFC Champions League because the team refused to travel to Iran to compete.
A football official from Mohun Bagan Club said: “We have been constantly informed about the unsafe situation in Iran, especially regarding the safety of players and staff. Why are other teams being treated unfairly, while Ronaldo’s team is being treated unfairly? There is clearly unfair treatment here.”
Al Nassr (yellow shirt) will play on neutral ground
In Group B of the 2024 - 2025 AFC Champions League, Al Nassr is ranked 4th with 4 points. If they win against Esteghlal FC, the Saudi Arabian representative will likely surpass Al Sadd (Qatar) to rank 3rd.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ronaldo-hut-qua-bong-vang-chau-a-al-nassr-bi-to-thien-vi-o-afc-champions-league-185241022094440508.htm
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