The Best Footballer in Asia 2021, recognizing the best male footballer in Asia in 2021, is the 9th edition of the Best Footballer in Asia. Son Heung-min claimed the award on 3 January 2022. It was his 5st Best Footballer in Asia title in a row, and the 7th title overall. The event was judged by a panel of 50 sports journalists.
Voting 50 judges were invited to vote, including 37 representatives from AFC nations/regions which comprise Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arabic Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen. The other thirteen jurors were independent Asian football experts or from high-profile media outlets. Before voting, all judges were given a 25-player shortlist, but could choose other eligible players.
Rules Each juror selects 5 best footballers and awards them 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point respectively from their first choice to the fifth choice. A trophy for the Best Footballer in Asia is awarded to the player with the highest total of points.
Tiebreakers When two or more candidates obtain the same points, the rankings of the concerned candidates would be based upon the following criteria in order:
a) The number of 1st-place vote obtained b) The number of 2nd-place vote obtained c) The number of 3rd-place vote obtained d) The number of 4th-place vote obtained
If all conditions are equal, the concerned candidates tie.
If the concerned candidates are tied for first place, the award and the trophy are shared.
Ranking Source: RankNameClub(s)Points 1 Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur242 2 Sardar Azmoun Zenit Saint Petersburg 111 3 Mehdi Taremi Porto 90 4 Salem Al-Dawsari Al-Hilal 74 5 Takehiro Tomiyasu Arsenal 50 6 Kyogo Furuhashi Celtic 36 7 Akram Afif Al-Sadd 23 8 Salman Al-Faraj Al-Hilal 19 9 Hwang Hee-chan RB Leipzig Wolverhampton Wanderers 19 10 Eldor Shomurodov Genoa Roma 18 11 Takefusa Kubo Getafe Mallorca 16 12 Leandro Damião Kawasaki Frontale 13 13 Bafétimbi Gomis Al-Hilal 13 14 Michael Olunga Al-Duhail 12 15 Wataru Endo VfB Stuttgart 11 16 Almoez Ali Al-Duhail 10 17 Ali Mabkhout Al Jazira 9 18 Alireza Jahanbakhsh Brighton & Hove Albion Feyenoord 5 19 Takumi Minamino Liverpool 4 20 Martin Boyle Hibernian3 Andres Iniesta Vissel Kobe 22 Igor Coronado Sharjah Al-Ittihad 2 Junya Ito Genk Amir Abedzadeh Maritimo Ponferradina Jang Hyun-soo Al-Hilal Oscar Shanghai Port Nguyen Tien Linh Becamex Binh Duong 28 Theerathon Bunmathan Yokohama F. Marinos 1 Hwang In-beom Rubin Kazan Sunil Chhetri Bengaluru Dejan Damjanovic Kitchee Jaloliddin Masharipov Al-Nassr Chanathip Songkrasin Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Wu Lei Espanyol
References