Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United and Real Madrid), 7. Lewandowski was recently awarded Tuttosport's Golden Player for the second year in a row, as the best over-21 player in Europe ahead of Chelseas Jorginho and Paris Saint-Germains Lionel Messi. A daily roundup of Bayern Munich news from Bavarian Football Works, By submitting your email, you agree to our, Robert Lewandowski has won the Golden Boot, and the Ballon dOr needs to be next, Stuttgart 1-2 Bayern Munich: Initial reactions and observations. 5/5. But he will not be winning the Ballon d'Or, football's top individual prize. I won the Striker of the Year Award and no player can win an individual award without a strong team and loyal fans behind them. However, this summer saw the end to his spell in the Bundesliga as Lewandowski sought a new challenge, joining Barcelona in La Liga. Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Atletico Madrid), 9. He has everything you need up front. Bayern's top brass are all in attendance in the French capital. The Ballon d'Or has been running since 1956. Fifa will still be handing out an award to the world's best player. Messi and Deschamps do not vote for Mbappe, Messi wins Best FIFA Men's Player Award ahead of Mbappe and Benzema. Lewandowski would be the fourth Bayern player to pick up the Ballon dOr after the late Mller, Franz Beckenbauer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Further praise has unsurprisingly come from further up the club chain, with CEO Oliver Kahn stating that "nobody deserves it more than him" and that Lewandowski has been setting the benchmark for strikers around the world for years. His importance to Mauricio Pochettinos side cannot be underestimated with 17 goals and 13 assists across 27 appearances in all competitions, but may be hampered by PSGs continued underachievement in Europe. So Lewandowski is the best striker for club and country and yet he finished second forthe Ballon d'Or? arcelona striker Robert Lewandowski was handed on Monday the Muller Trophy which recognizes the player who scored the most goals with his club and . "[Lewandowski] had a great year, and from year to year he outdoes himself and shows the class of forward he is and the facility he has to score goals," Messi said about Lewandowski in a post-event press conference. Its also interesting to see who made it into voters lists of the top ten footballers in the world from every year since the turn of the millennium, including this one. Quite simply, he has not stopped finding the back of the netsince the start of the year, continuing what's now a years-long, nonstopscoring spree. Lewandowski's chances of winning would have been enhanced by the fact he's a striker - winners are usually forwards or creative midfielders and, more often than not, win the Champions League. Gio Reyna (Dortmund) and Florian Wirtz (Leverkusen) came in ninth and seventh respectively. His chances are very high probably even higher than last year. ", MORE: World Cup playoffs draw and how they work. Messi sure seems to believe that the 2021 Copa America, his first international title with Argentina's senior team, was a major factor in his winning the Ballon d'Or: "This award isfor what we did at the Copa America," Messi said in his acceptance speech. Even after having achieved so much, he has plenty of targets on the horizon, and he doesnt look like missing. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. The 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony will take place next autumn. Lewandowski was undoubtedly denied the honour by last years cancellation, but 12 months later hes still fully deserving of the accolade. Robert Lewandowski won the Best Men's Player award the previous two years in a row Cristiano Ronaldo did not make the 14-player shortlist for the Best Player award this year for the first time ever. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi since the pair of all-time greats took over in 2008. Instead. Kylian Mbappe (Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain), 2. Bayern captain Manuel Neuer came fifth overall in the goalkeeping category, with the PSG custodian taking the top prize in part for his role in helping Italy win EURO 2020 over the summer. Other Bundesliga players to have won it are Allan Simonsen (Borussia Mnchengladbach) and Kevin Keegan (Hamburg). His 55 goals were 18 more than Cristiano Ronaldo managed for Juventus and 24 more than Lionel Messi at Barcelona. Chelsea midfielder N'golo Kante is fifth, Real Madrid's Karim Benzema is fourth and Jorginho third +++DONNARUMMA WINS YASHIN TROPHY AS BEST GOALKEEPER+++. It might not seem that long ago since Karim Benzema was picking up the 2022 Ballon d'Or, but the race for the 2023 award has already picked up plenty of steam. 1997-2023 Topend Sports Network This article first appeared in the Winter Edition of World Soccer. Furthermore, his home country of Poland gave him the number one spot. and Robert Lewandowski. It was also the 34-year-old player's fourth consecutive victory at the awards, and it came after he helped Juventus win the 2018-19 Serie A title in his debut season in Italy and also played a vital role in Portugal's victory in the Nations League. Ballon d'Or. It's unclear whether the timing of the Ballon d'Or vote will change to account for a first-ever winter World Cup (ends Dec. 18, 2022), but Lewandowski and Poland will likely not be making a run in Qatar based on recent tournament history, and that's if they make it that far. However, he missed out on the European Golden Shoe - for the top league scorer in the continent - to Lazio's Ciro Immobile. You were the rightfulwinner [last year]. The numbers have been frightening. Oops. Last season, Lewandowski finished as runner up in the Ballon d'Or, with Lionel Messi claiming his 7th award ahead of the Poland star. penalties by Serie A referees. Yet only Messi in 2012 and 2015 has managed to win it with a better goal return than Lewandowski. Looking at the statistics, it is easy to understand why so many deem Lewandowski to have been robbed of the Ballon dOr award, after it was cancelled for the first time due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The Frenchman has been in fine form this season, with his 34 goals and 13 assists leading Real Madrids charge for domestic and European success. The award, widely considered to be the most prestigious individual honour in football, has been the property of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi since the pair of all-time greats took over in 2008, aside from one year. David Beckham (Manchester United and Real Madrid), 5. . The Poland international has been one of the most prolific scorers in European football over the last 12 years,. Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has finally won one of the few individual trophies that has eluded him so far the European Golden Boot (also called shoe, but boot sounds cooler), which is awarded to the highest domestic scorer in Europe for the season. Spare a thought for Robert Lewandowski pic.twitter.com/yeYIVJ3VU9, Lewandowski was the #BallonDor winner and it shouldnt have been close but here we are. Only journalists vote in the latter theres no clear verification.. The only variation to date in the men's game came in 2021 when Lionel Messi controversially won the Ballon d'Or and Robert Lewandowski was awarded FIFA's The Best. @lewy_official #BallonDor #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/yF6JEce7zu. And as 2021 proved, even that might not be enough. Uefa Champions League On Instagram Who S Your Pick For The 2022 Ballon D Or Ucl In 2023 Ballon D Or Messi Soccer Messi . In the 2020/21 season, Lewandowski scored an incredible 48 goals and provided nine assists in 40 matches in all competitions, as Bayern won the Bundesliga, DFL-Supercup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA. 32 - Haaland (11th) Ballon d'Or/Winners (2021) Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City) has landed in 8th, Mo Salah (Liverpool) in 7th and Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) 6th. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). Please enter a valid email and try again. That's where Lewandowski stands apart. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) 9. The 2020 edition of the Ballon d'Or was controversially cancelled by France Football, who cited the COVID-19 pandemic as their reason for doing so. Join GOAL as our 12-month Ballon d'Or Power Rankings journey continues (Previous update: February 13, 2022. Before the Champions League final, he told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Lewandowski has been amazing for a good part of a decade but this year he has gone up another level. best No.9 in the world, he says. You had an unbelievable year.". The reigning Best FIFA Mens Player, Lewandowski, is among the frontrunners for France Footballs award as the best player in the world. Lewandowski deserved it. Ive been thinking about these two awards lately: FIFA Best Player and the Ballon dOr," he said. Lewandowski just had an amazing season, somehow beating Gerd Mullers legendary 40-goal-a-season record in the Bundesliga despite missing a month due to injury. 5 comment s 668 share s The award, widely considered to be the most prestigious individual honour. When we look back at the 2021 Ballon d'Or, that inconsistency will be a hard one to explain. Football fans claim Robert Lewandowski was 'disrespected' during Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony. This service is provided on talkSPORT Ltd's Terms of Use in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Lewandowski bagged 34 goals in 31 league games, with Immobile managing 36 in 37. In 44 competitive games for the German record champions till now, the 31-year-old has scored an incredible 45 goals. Robert Lewandowski was among the front-runners for the 2021 edition but Paris Saint-German superstar and six-time winner Messi added a seventh triumph. Luckily, Immobiles improbable feat didnt repeat itself, and wouldnt have mattered if it did. What competition does he have? The treble took the Poland captain to 248 Bundesliga goals. 2023 Eurosport, a Warner Bros. Robert Lewandowski, who would surely have won the award had it not been cancelled in 2020, is joined by the likes of Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema among the favourites for the Men's Ballon d . Shaun Custis questions the decision to give Messi the #BallonDor over Robert Lewandowski pic.twitter.com/YT3CGyTTRt. The 21-year-old just brought up his 50th goal in as many Bundesliga appearances - expect to see him on the podium in the not too distant future. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Barcelonas Robert Lewandowski gives instructions during the Champions League group C soccer match between Inter Milan and Barcelona at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. He claimed his first in 2008, with further successes coming in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. The most recent winner is Lionel Messi in 2021. Lewandowski is Poland's greatest goalscorer in history The 34-year-old made the switch to the Camp Nou last summer, having scored an incredible 344 goals in 375 matches at Bayern Munich. The Portugal star has also recorded six second-place finishes as well as coming third once. And it wasn't Lionel Messi. The Socceroos coach chats to World Soccer about his teams chances in Qatar, Croatias coach sits down with World Soccer to discuss his teams chances in Qatar, Canada manager John Herdman speaks to World Soccer about his teams chances in Qatar. ", MORE: Ronaldo fires back at France Football editor comment. Poland's record goalscorer has continued that ruthless streak in front of goal in 2021 but it still wasn't enough as Lionel Messi secured his seventh Ballon d'Or on Monday night. We'll soon find out whether Lewandowski was an outright snub for some of those who had a vote, and whether there were any media who didn't even have him in their top three. But despite these fundamental changes, the usual suspects are set to battle it out once again to receive what is arguably the most respected individual award in world football. Web With the 2022 FIFA World Cup now behind us the race for the 2023 Ballon dOr is well and truly on. The fact head coach Julian Nagelsmann, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and CEO Oliver Kahn have made the trip could bode well for Lewy Lewandowski isn't just Bayern's talisman, he's Poland's, too. France Football's decision not to award a 2020 Ballon d'Or has come with much controversy. Watch: Robert Lewandowski's 41-goal season. I think a player who achieves this would win the Ballon dOr.. In the last year hes strengthened his position as Polands all-time top goalscorer even further. To claim one, to Ferr, is to claim a . From Robert Lewandowski being robbed to Mohamed Salah placing seventh - there are arguments about who deserved to be where on the men's Ballon d'Or rankings. Hes been so incredibly consistent over the last three years like nobody else, said Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann of his main man in attack. However, Robert Lewandowski's odds have tumbled, and while many believed the Bayern Munich striker was cruelly denied the 2020 award, his form this year has made him a worthy contender and the . He recorded 206 points from voters on his home continent, compared to Messi's 151. Lewy might already have a FIFA The Best award under his belt, but he wants that Ballon dOr, and all of us Bayern Munich fans want him to get it too. The narrative of the event was focused on theend of his trophy drought with the Albiceleste, but he was Argentina's third-most influential playerbehind midfielderRodrigo De Paul and goalkeeper Emiliano "Dibu" Martinez. Lewandowski turns 34 next year, but 2022 is also a World Cup year. Johan Cruyff won three. The prolific striker, who has enjoyed an excellent start to life at Barcelona after leaving. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. However, the Argentine's incredible record in the Ballon dOr means you cannot count him out completely, despite looking unlikely. By Ryan Reid. The voting will bepublished in the Dec. 4 edition of France Football magazine. Robert Lewandowski has never won the award. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. We won everything we could with Bayern. . https://t.co/vh2GnA0dcK, I feel for Lewandowski. The winner was favorite Real Madrid's Karim Benzema.