The Best Footballer in Asia 2023, recognizing the best male footballer in Asia in 2023, was the 11th edition of the Best Footballer in Asia. Son Heung-min claimed the award on 15 January 2024. It was his seventh Best Footballer in Asia title in a row, and eighth title overall. The event was judged by a panel of sixty-three sports journalists. Son received 17 first-place votes, 24 second-place votes, 7 third-place votes, 5 fourth-place votes, 2 fifth-place votes and finished on 231 points in total.
Voting 63 judges were invited to vote, including 42 representatives from AFC nations/regions which comprise Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Chinese Taipei, Guam，Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Laos，Korea Republic, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arabic Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen. The other twenty 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 selected their five best footballers and awarded them five, four, three, two and one point respectively from their first choice to the fifth choice. A trophy for the Best Footballer in Asia was awarded to the player with the highest total of points.
Tiebreakers When two or more candidates obtained the same points, the rankings of the concerned candidates was based upon the following criteria in order:
a) The number of first-place vote obtained b) The number of second-place vote obtained c) The number of third-place vote obtained d) The number of fourth-place vote obtained
If all conditions were equal, the concerned candidates tied.
If the concerned candidates were tied for first place, the award and the trophy were shared.
Ranking RankPlayerClub(s)Points 1 Son Heung-min Tottenham Hotspur231 2 Kim Min-jae Napoli Bayern Munich197 3 Cristiano Ronaldo Al Nassr 172 4 Kaoru Mitoma Brighton & Hove Albion 101 5 Mehdi Taremi Porto 55 6 Takefusa Kubo Real Sociedad 48 7 Salem Al-Dawsari Al Hilal 42 8 Wataru Endo VfB Stuttgart Liverpool 40 9 Hwang Hee-chan Wolverhampton Wanderers 33 10 Lee Kang-in Mallorca Paris Saint-Germain 14 11 Talisca Al Nassr 13 12 Sardar Azmoun Bayer Leverkusen Roma8 13 Hiroki Sakai Urawa Red Diamonds 8 14 Kyogo Furuhashi Celtic 7 15 Takehiro Tomiyasu Arsenal 7 16 Saud Abdulhamid Al Hilal 617 Sunil Chhetri Bengaluru 618 Jeong Woo-yeong SC Freiburg VfB Stuttgart 419 Abderrazak Hamdallah Al-Ittihad 3 Michael Olunga Al-Duhail Alexander Scholz Urawa Red Diamonds22 Yuya Osako Vissel Kobe 223 Alireza Jahanbakhsh Feyenoord 224 Theerathon Bunmathan Buriram United 1 Eldor Shomurodov Spezia Cagliari Harry Souttar Leicester City Source:
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