SEOUL, October 17 (AJP) - Midfielder Lee Kang-in, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), was honored with an award by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Asian governing body for football said on Thursday.
At an awards ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Lee was named this year's "AFC Asian International Player of the Year," awarded to the top player from an AFC member country, beating rivals like Japan's Takefusa Kubo of La Liga club Real Sociedad and Iran's Mehdi Taremi of Greece club Olympiacos.
The AFC said Lee "picked up his first AFC Asian International Player of the Year..... award, following a season where he won the UEFA Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain and also helped [South Korea] qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026."
Lee became the third South Korean to win the award, following striker Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC, who has won it four times, and defender Kim Min-jae of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, who received it once in 2022.
Lee played 49 matches for PSG this season, scoring seven goals and helping the team win the UEFA Champions League, Ligue 1, and the French Cup, while finishing as runners-up in the FIFA Club World Cup. In Ligue 1, he scored six goals in 30 appearances.
Meanwhile, the AFC "Coach of the Year" award went to Ri Song-ho, who led North Korea to victory in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Salem Aldawsari of Saudi Arabia and Japan's Hana Takahashi won the men's and women's player of the year awards.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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