With FC Seoul’s title settled, now comes the MVP fight

With FC Seoul fending off challengers to win their first league title in a decade, the club's stars of the season are in a race for the sole MVP nomination.

The prize is the league’s top individual honor and is awarded after the season through votes from managers, team captains and the media. The winner is typically announced at the year-end K League Awards ceremony. League rules allow each club to nominate only one player.

Seoul secured the 2026 K League 1 title early after a 1-1 home draw with Gangwon FC on Saturday took the club to 67 points from 20 wins, seven draws and six losses.

Second-placed Ulsan HD, on 51 points, cannot catch Seoul even if they win all five of their remaining matches.

The championship is the capital side's first since 2016 and seventh overall.

Players across every position contributed, which has left Seoul with the welcome problem of deciding whom to nominate for MVP.

The club will discuss the candidates with manager Kim Gi-dong before settling on a final nominee.

Midfielder Jeong Seung-won has been the least shy candidate so far.

After recording one goal and two assists against FC Anyang in August, Jeong celebrated by spelling out “MVP” with his fingers.

“I know the older guys probably want to win it too, and I respect that,” he said. “But personally, I want to win MVP.”

The midfielder is brash and outspoken both in word and action.

After scoring against his former club Daegu FC in March last year, Jeong ran the length of the pitch, cupping his ear as he approached the visiting fans.

The moment drew comparisons to Togolese forward Emmanuel Adebayor, who famously traversed the pitch before sliding on his knees in front of Arsenal supporters after scoring against his former club while playing for Manchester City.

Jeong was soon dubbed the “K League Adebayor.”

The celebration drew fierce backlash, but the midfielder was unfazed.

While his swagger on the pitch has invited criticism, his performances are difficult to dispute. Jeong has been a key figure on the right flank in the side's fast-transition system.

Jeong was especially decisive during the crucial title race in July and August, when he produced eight goals and three assists.

The biggest question is how he will fare in the MVP vote.

Managers account for 30 percent of the vote, team captains another 30 percent and the media the remaining 40 percent.

That means 60 percent of the vote comes from managers and captains who have faced Jeong on the pitch — and may have a bone to pick over his onfield antics.

That gives Seoul something to think about when choosing its nominee.

Jeong also faces serious competition from within his own team.

Polish striker Patryk Klimala is tied with Yago Cariello of Ulsan as the league’s top scorer with 16 goals this season. Seoul has lost just twice in matches in which Klimala has scored. FC Seoul’s captain Kim Jin-su, meanwhile, has anchored the league’s stingiest defense and helped turn Seoul into a tightly united team.

The competition outside the club may be even tougher.

In the past, playing for the title-winning team carried enormous weight in MVP voting, but recent selections have placed greater emphasis on individual performance.

Last season, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won the title, but the award went to Lee Dong-gyeong of runner-up Ulsan.

Lee has 12 goals and 13 assists this season and has reached double figures in both goals and assists for the second straight year. There is already talk that he could win MVP for a second consecutive season.

“I don’t know when having more attacking points became the reason someone wins MVP,” Jeong said. “Of course it should come from the championship team.”

Experts, however, are leaning toward Klimala.

“Seoul’s biggest problem was scoring, and he [Klimala] solved it,” said Lee Young-pyo, a 2002 World Cup star-turned-football commentator. “His positioning and finishing were excellent.”

Another commentator agreed.

“It could be a reasonable strategy to nominate Klimala, who has been at the heart of Seoul’s first title in 10 years,” football commentator Kim Hwan said. “It feels like Seoul has finally found a proper striker since Dejan [Damjanović],” referring to the club's all-time leading goalscorer.

BY PARK LIN [[email protected]]