Salem Al Dawsari named AFC Player of the Year 2025

Riyadh: Asian icon Salem Al Dawsari was crowned the latest AFC Player of the Year on Thursday night in a milestone moment at the AFC Awards Riyadh 202...

Riyadh: Asian icon Salem Al Dawsari was crowned the latest AFC Player of the Year on Thursday night in a milestone moment at the AFC Awards Riyadh 2025 presented by NEOM.

The Al Hilal SFC superstar became the first Saudi Arabian to win the prestigious accolade twice and the fourth to do so after Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata (1997, 1998), Uzbekistan’s Server Djeparov (2008, 2011) and Qatar’s Akram Afif (2019, 2023).

Having claimed the prize in 2022, Al Dawsari’s triumph at the King Fahad Cultural Center also meant that Al Hilal and Saudi Arabia have produced the most recipients of any club (six) and Member Association (seven) respectively. He beat out Afif and Arif Aiman Hanapi, who was the first-ever Malaysian nominee.

Despite turning 34 in August, the Saudi Arabian great remains at the top of his game and one of the leading lights on the Continent after turning in a superb 2024/25 campaign.

With 10 goals in the AFC Champions League Elite™, Al Dawsari finished as the top scorer during Al Hilal’s run to the Semi-finals. Domestically, a return of 15 goals and 15 assists saw him pick up the Best Saudi Player trophy, while his assist tally was the joint-most in a single season and also saw him become the league’s all-time assist leader.