Lekhwiya playmaker Nam Tae Hee picked up the Best Player award at the 2017 Qatar Football Association (QFA) awards.
South Korean international Nam edged out Hassan Haydos and Xavi of Al Sadd to take home the prize on Saturday evening at the Qatar National Conference Centre (QNCC).
However, Nam Tae was full of praise for Xavi in particular, even going as far as to say that the Barcelona legend deserved the award.
"Beating Xavi to win the award: For me, Xavi deserved the best player this season. He played all the games and he played well," the midfielder told Goal.
"They (Al Sadd) won two important cups this season. For me, he deserves the best player honour. Of course, I’m happy to get this trophy with Xavi and Haydoos in contention for the best player (award)," he added.
Nam Tae enjoyed a phenomenal season with Lekhwiya, scoring 14 goals and notching up nine assists. He was naturally delighted having won the award for best player and hopes he will have more in the future.
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"It was very tough to win the Qatar Stars League but we pushed ourselves by trying to win every game. All the players and the coach deserve credit for Lekhwiya winning the title. Winning this award is special. This is the first time and I hope it isn’t the last time!"
The 25-year-old showed great maturity this season, scoring crucial late goals including a 90th minute winner against Al Ahli to seal the title for Lekhwiya. He's hopeful that his performances this season helps his case with the national team but recognises that the level of competition is fierce.
"I don’t know (about getting more starts for South Korea). The national team is different than Lekhwiya. The national team have many, many good players and they deserve to play every game," he explained.
"I’m always fighting to be amongst the first eleven players. We will see. Now we have important games against Qatar, Iran and Uzbekistan for the World Cup berth."
Lekhwiya will hope Nam Tae can carry his good form into the AFC Champions League as they seek to advances further in the continental tournament.