The 2021 AFC Champions League will see 40 teams in the group stage - an increase of eight - with one additional group each in the East and West Zones.

The 2021 AFC Cup Group Stage will see 39 clubs competing - an increase of three from 2019 - with a newly-introduced Group for the Central Zone.

This edition will also award the winning team a place in the preliminary stage of the 2022 AFC Champions League.

With the continued support of the Member Associations and participating clubs, the AFC has agreed that the AFC Champions League Group Stage West Region matches will be scheduled between April 14-30 while the East Region are planned for April 21-May 7, 2021.

It will come as no surprise that several Persepolis players made up the fans Best XI, as their run to the final inspired their supporters.

Below are the 11 players voted by the public on the-AFC.com, while an XI based on Stats Perform's statistics included as a comparison.

DID YOU KNOW?

The official 2021 AFC Champions League and 2021 AFC Cup draw is scheduled to take place in a virtual ceremony on January 27, 2021 in Malaysia at 2:30pm and 4:30pm (local time) respectively.

Both club competitions will see a record number of clubs competing in 2021 with two additional groups – one each for the East and West Regions – included in this season’s AFC Champions League Group Stage, which has been expanded from 32 to 40 clubs.

Similarly, the number of clubs in the 2021 Group Stage of the ever-growing AFC Cup may rise to 39 clubs from 36 in the last edition in 2019, with a newly-introduced Group for the Central Zone.

The 30-year-old shot-stopper resoundingly won the award, which recognises the best performer in the 2020 AFC Champions League season, based on votes from a combination of fans and independent experts.

Lak prevailed ahead of Ulsan Hyundai FC midfielder Yoon Bit-garam, who finished second having received the official award for the competition’s Most Valuable Player following the final in Doha on December 19.

The award recognises club and national team performances of Asian men’s players registered to professional clubs outside of the AFC.