Kim Min-jae named AFC Asian International Player of the Year | OneFootball

Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae has been named the AFC Asian International Player of the Year.

The award was presented by the Asian Football Confederation last night at the AFC Annual Awards in Doha.

Kim is the second South Korean player to win the award as fellow compatriot and Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-Min has won the award three times in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Kim enjoyed an exceptional season in 2022-23 as he won the Scudetto with Napoli, which was the club’s first league title in 33 years. This earned him a €50m move to the Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich.

The South Korean has had a rapid rise to the top since he moved from the Chinese Super League to join Turkish side Fenerbahçe in 2021.

Napoli swooped in to purchase Kim before he even completed a year at Fenerbahçe, and he went on to be one of Napoli’s most important players in their league success and journey to the last eight of the Champions League.

Kim has continued his progress at Bayern as he has played the full 90 minutes in every Bundesliga game so far this season.

In addition, Kim was the only Asian player to make the Men’s Ballon d’Or award shortlist.

GGFN | Matthew Gritton