Fifa 20: Spurs’ Son Heung-min leads Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi in vote for cover star

South Korean leads the FifPlay vote after guiding English Premier League side to Uefa Champions League semi-finals
The 26-year-old is joined by China and Espanyol forward Wu Lei in the top 10

English Premier League

Jonathan White

Published: 3:17pm, 21 Apr 2019

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Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean striker Son Heung-min leads the way on a vote for the next cover star of the Fifa video game series.

The next edition, Fifa 20, will be released later this year and gaming community website FifPlay has asked its users which player they want to see on the cover of the annual series.

Son leads the Fifa 18 and Fifa 19 cover star Cristiano Ronaldo by 1,500 votes on Sunday, although both players are level on 17 per cent of the overall vote.

Barcelona and Argentina maestro Leo Messi, who was on the cover for four editions from Fifa 13, is in third position, with 16 per cent of the total vote.

The results so far have called on fans and media to lobby game publishers EA Sports to include Son on the cover.

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during the Uefa Champions League quarter-final loss to Ajax. Photo: AFP

Son has been in fine form this season, most recently scoring twice away at Manchester City in the Uefa Champions League semi-final second leg. Spurs went through to face Ajax in the semi-finals.

He has scored 20 goals this season, including 12 in the league, and with three games of the English Premier League season left, he is on course to match his best league haul of 14 in the 2016-17 season.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi celebrates during the Uefa Champions League quarter-final win over Manchester United. Photo: Xinhua

The former Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen player joined Spurs in 2015 and despite being linked with a move away from England in 2016, Son has shone in recent years.

None more so than this year, leading the line in the absence of England captain Harry Kane and scoring the goals to take Spurs through to their first Champions League semi-final in almost 60 years.

Son was recently reported to be the most popular athlete in Asia, according to figures provided to CNN by Nielsen Sports.

Son Heung-min of South Korea celebrates during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup group C match between South Korea and China. Photo: Xinhua

Being given the cover of the bestselling video game would add to a remarkable 12 months for the 26-year-old, who led South Korea to gold medal glory at last year’s Asian Games in Indonesia as well as playing at the Fifa World Cup and AFC Asian Cup.

Paris St Germain’s Neymar (15 per cent), Liverpool star forward Mohamed Salah (10 per cent) and Thomas Mueller of Bayern Munich (8 per cent) follow the top three before China’s Wu Lei on 5 per cent of votes.

Wu joined Spanish La Liga side Espanyol from Chinese Super League champions Shanghai SIPG in the winter transfer window and has attracted an increased interest because of that.

RCD Espanyol’s Wu Lei (24) during a Spanish league match against Valladolid. Photo: Xinhua

The China forward is ahead of Manchester United’s France World Cup winner Paul Pogba, Mexico and West Ham striker Javier Hernandez and Pogba’s France teammate, PSG star Kylian Mbappe.

However, a cover appearance for Wu Lei should be regarded as highly unlikely even if he can get the votes to top the poll.

The vote is not binding for game publishers EA Sports, meaning even Son is not guaranteed to feature on the cover, even if his popularity with players is established.

Tottenham heading to Singapore and Shanghai for preseason tour in July

EA Sports did follow what the public wanted in introducing the Chinese Super League for Fifa 19.

The CSL had won a vote on FifPlay for the most wanted league among fans of the video game.

The poll of which new leagues to include in Fifa 20 has received over two million votes.

Malaysia leads Indonesia in that poll, ahead of the Finnish top flight in third place.

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