Son Heung-min finishes 11th in Ballon d'Or, highest position ever by Asian

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korean football star Son Heung-min has broken his own mark for the highest ranking by an Asian player ever in the annual Ballon d'Or voting, finishing 11th for the prestigious award.

In a ceremony held in Paris on Monday (local time), Son, who scored 23 goals for Tottenham Hotspur to share the Premier League Golden Boot with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah last season, fell just outside the top 10. Son, the only Asian nominee this year, had checked in at 22nd among 30 finalists in 2019, when he was nominated for the award for the first time.

This image captured from the official Twitter page of the Ballon d'Or Award on Oct. 18, 2022, shows Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean player Son Heung-min, who finished 11th in the voting for football's top player. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Karim Benzema of Real Madrid nabbed his first Ballon d'Or after helping his Spanish club to La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles last season. The French forward led both competitions in goals -- 27 in the league and 15 in the continental tournament.

Salah finished fifth.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have reigned supreme in the Ballon d'Or race for more than a decade, didn't come close to sniffing the trophy this time. Messi, a record seven-time winner, wasn't even nominated, while Ronaldo, who has won this award five times, finished 20th.