Salem Al-Dawsari sparked a wave of controversy after a post on his Snapchat account. The Al-Hilal captain shared a picture that reopened questions about his stance on the Asian Player of the Year race, with the winner of the current edition set to be announced.
Read also: Between the gamble and the exit: What awaits Salem Al-Dawsari with Al-Hilal?
The image showed Al-Dawsari's previous crowning with the Asian award. Some read it as a veiled message, a sign of his confidence in landing the title again. Others saw nothing more than a nod to a past achievement, carrying no hint of how the race will end.
Al-Dawsari is chasing the award for the third time in his career. He faces competition from Saudi Arabia's Firas Al-Buraikan, the Al-Ahli striker, and Iran's Alireza Beiranvand, the Tractor goalkeeper, after the trio made the final list of nominees.
A win would hand the Al-Hilal man a slice of history. No player has ever been crowned Asian Player of the Year three times, and Al-Dawsari, already a two-time winner, stands on the brink of another individual honour.
The buzz around his picture settles nothing, though. His post is no guarantee of the award, with the Asian Football Confederation set to reveal the result at the ceremony in the Thai capital Bangkok on 19 November.
Caught between the ambition of a third triumph and the expectations stirred by his latest post, the Al-Hilal captain stays firmly in the spotlight. Was the picture just a memory of past glory, or did it come moments before he celebrates a fresh Asian crown?