Lee Kang-in wins award for top Asian player overseas

Paris Saint-Germain's South Korean midfielder #19 Lee Kang-in shoots towards goal in front of Lille's French forward #09 Olivier Giroud, right, during the French L1 football match between Lille LOSC and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, northern France, on Oct. 5. AFP-Yonhap

Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has won an annual football award recognizing the top Asian player in foreign competitions.

Lee was named the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian International Player of the Year at the AFC Awards at King Fahad Cultural Center in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Thursday (local time).

The prize is given to the Asian player who has the best performance outside the continent during a given calendar year. Lee beat out Takefusa Kubo, the Japanese midfielder for Real Sociedad and his former teammate at the Spanish side Mallorca, and Mehdi Taremi, the Iranian forward for Olympiacos.

Lee is the third South Korean winner of this award, which was first presented in 2012. Son Heung-min (2015, 2017, 2019 and 2023) and Kim Min-jae (2022) are the two others.

For the 2024-2025 season with PSG, Lee appeared in 49 matches in all competitions and netted seven goals. The midfielder helped PSG enjoy their most successful season as they became the first French team to pull off a continental treble by winning the UEFA Champions League, the Ligue 1 and the French Cup titles. They finished as the runners-up at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Lee was not able to attend the ceremony as PSG are in the midst of their season. He was the only South Korean nominee at this year's AFC Awards.