Despite an exceptional year in 2023 on a statistical level, Cristiano Ronaldo sees a new individual reward elude him.
Forgotten from the Ballon d’Or, skipped from The Best trophy, removed from the best teams of the year: a priori, one might believe that Cristiano Ronaldo has completely disappeared from the radar. The first world star to join Saudi Arabia last January, “CR7” nevertheless piled up the goals with Al-Nassr and Portugal, ending 2023 as the best director in the football world with 54 goals.
Enough to earn him at least one individual title on his new continent? Not even… When it came time to decide on the best Asian player or player playing in an Asian championship, the voters actually preferred Son Heung-min. The South Korean international from Tottenham, author of 27 goals in 2023, was crowned for the seventh consecutive time, with 22.9% of the votes.
Ronaldo beaten by two players
And the Portuguese striker did not come second either since it was the compatriot of the Spurs player, Kim Min-jae, crowned Italian champion with Naples before being transferred to Bayern Munich, who also finished ahead him. Despite his exceptional performance, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner (38 years old) had to settle for third place on the podium with 17.1% of the votes. A new humiliation.
Our captain 🤍
Congratulations to @Sonny7 on winning the Best Footballer in Asia award for the seventh year in a row! 💫 pic.twitter.com/u4haWbUrn9
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 16, 2024