Riyadh: Saudi Arabian football star Salem Al Dawsari was crowned the AFC Player of the Year at the AFC Awards Riyadh 2025 presented by NEOM, becoming the first Saudi to win the honor twice. The Al Hilal SFC winger joins an elite list of double winners, including Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata, Uzbekistan’s Server Djeparov, and Qatar’s Akram Afif.

Al Dawsari’s stellar 2024/25 season saw him score 10 goals in the AFC Champions League Elite™, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer while leading Al Hilal to the Semi-finals. In the Saudi Pro League, he recorded 15 goals and 15 assists, earning the Best Saudi Player award and becoming the league’s all-time assist leader.

On the international stage, the 34-year-old captain continued to shine, guiding Al Hilal to the FIFA Club World Cup quarter-finals and setting a new record as the top Asian scorer in the tournament’s history. Al Dawsari, famed for his memorable goal against Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, recently reached 100 international caps and is set to represent Saudi Arabia again at the next World Cup.