This year, Asia's No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 are all "Korean players"... Son Heung-min is still the best in 亞 even after leaving the EPL

*This content was translated by AI.

As of this year, Son Heung-min (34, Los Angeles FC), the captain of the South Korean national soccer team, proudly ranked first in the Asian soccer player rankings. He left the English Premier League (EPL) for the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS), but it is still an "extraordinary class" in Asia with no player beyond Son Heung-min.

Son Heung-min recently ranked first in the 2026 Best Asian Player Top 6 released by soccer statistics media Madfootball. Son Heung-min remained at the top of Asia's best player rankings selected by the media even during his time at Tottenham, but he did not miss the top spot even after heading to MLS. This ranking is especially meaningful in that 2026 has become a reference point, not a cumulative ranking.

It's not just Son Heung-min. Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) came in second after Son Heung-min, while Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) also came in fourth. As many as three of the top four players were filled with South Korean players. This is a background that can evaluate the strength of the Korean national team, which is preparing for the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup, as 'all-time'.

Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton and Hove Albion) of the Japanese national team came in third, preventing South Korean players from sweeping the top three spots. Japanese striker Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord), who is leading the Eredivisie score (20 goals) in the Netherlands professional football, is ranked fifth, and Uzbekistan center back Abdukodir Husanov from Manchester City is ranked sixth, respectively.

The media also released the rankings of athletes from other continents as well as Asia. France's Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) was selected as the highest ranking in Europe, followed by Spain's national team's Ramin Yamal (Barcelona) and England's Harry Kane (Bayern Munich).

In South America, Brazil's Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) and Rafaela (Barcelona) ranked first and second, Uruguay's Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) ranked third, and Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), who plays in the same MLS stage as Son Heung-min, ranked fourth.

Sadio Mane (Alnasr) ranked first in Africa and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) ranked second.

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*This content was translated by AI.