Best Footballer in Asia 2019

The Best Footballer in Asia 2019, recognizing the best male footballer in Asia in 2019, is the 7th edition of the Best Footballer in Asia, presented by Titan Sports. Son Heung-min won the award on 3 January 2020.^[1] It was his 3rd Best Footballer in Asia title in a row, and the 5th in the previous 6 years.^[2] The event was judged by a panel of 51 sports journalists. With 31.6% of all points awarded, Son Heung-min achieved the highest tally of Best Footballer in Asia in history at the time.^[3]

Voting

51 judges were invited to vote, including 37 representatives from AFC nations/regions which comprise Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arabic Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen. The other fourteen jurors were independent Asian football experts or from well-known football media outlets.^[3][4] Before voting, all judges were given a 24-player shortlist, but could choose other eligible players.^[5]

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.^[6]

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:^[4]

Rank	Name	Club(s)	Points
1	Son Heung-min	Tottenham Hotspur	258
2	Akram Afif	Al-Sadd	114
3	Takumi Minamino	Red Bull Salzburg	90
4	Almoez Ali	Al-Duhail	64
5	Sardar Azmoun	Zenit Saint Petersburg	59
6	Bafétimbi Gomis	Al-Hilal	49
7	Wu Lei	Espanyol	29
8	Salem Al-Dawsari	Al-Hilal	26
9	Baghdad Bounedjah	Al-Sadd	15
10	Paulinho	Guangzhou Evergrande	14
11	Lee Kang-in	Valencia	13
12	Theerathon Bunmathan	Yokohama F. Marinos	10
13	Eldor Shomurodov	Rostov	10
14	Sebastian Giovinco	Al-Hilal	9
15	Omar Al Somah	Al-Ahli	8
16	Yuya Osako	Werder Bremen	8
17	Nguyễn Quang Hải	Hanoi	8
18	Mathew Ryan	Brighton & Hove Albion	7
19	Ali Mabkhout	Al-Jazira	7
20	Yuto Nagatomo	Galatasaray	5
21	Mohanad Ali	Al-Shorta Al-Duhail	4
22	Sunil Chhetri	Bengaluru	4
23	Yasser Al-Shahrani	Al-Hilal	2
24	Arslanmyrat Amanow	Lokomotiv Tashkent	1
	Elkeson	Shanghai SIPG Guangzhou Evergrande
	Adam Taggart	Brisbane Roar Suwon Samsung Bluewings

References