The Asian Footballer of the Year award is an annual prize awarded to the best Asian player in a calendar year.

Ahmed Radhi Humaiesh Al-Salehi was an Iraqi footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed "The Magician" in his playing days and regarded as one of Iraq's and Asia's best players of all time, Radhi scored the only Iraqi goal at the FIFA World Cup in its 1986 edition, a low shot to the corner of the net against Belgium in a 2–1 defeat. He was voted the Asian Footballer of the Year in 1988.