Why should Lewandowski beat Messi & Ronaldo to FIFA's The Best?

The trio are all nominated for The Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award, but Matthaus insists only one can be best – Lewandowski.

Lothar Matthaus believes Robert Lewandowski has evolved from being the world’s best No.9 into ‘the most complete and best player’, making The Best FIFA Men’s Player of 2020 prize rightfully his.

FIFA’s top individual award acknowledges a footballer’s accomplishments from July 20, 2019, to October 7, 2020. 11 players have made the shortlist, including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – who have won the prize a combined three times.

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But while many would consider either of the duo a safe bet to claim it again, Lewandowski has built a strong case for himself.

The Polish striker scored a sensational 55 goals in all competitions last season to help Bayern Munich win a treble in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and Champions League. He later helped the club claim UEFA Super Cup and DFL-Supercup glory before the October 7 deadline.

Perhaps the most decisive factor in Lewandowski’s favor was his Champions League exploits. He scored 15 goals in only 10 games and even chipped in six assists to help Bayern claim the big prize. Nobody in the competition came close to matching him.

“As the name suggests, there can only be one who is the best. That is Robert Lewandowski,” Matthaus wrote in his Sky column.

“He’s no longer just the best number nine in the world. Robert is the most complete and best player there is in world football.

“With Bayern, he has won the five big titles that can be won. Champions League, Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, DFL-Supercup, and UEFA Super Cup. In addition, he was also the top scorer in the first three competitions mentioned.”

The German and Bayern legend added: “His rivals Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappe are all fantastic players – just like Lewy. The difference is he has won every title there was to be won.

“Messi had a season without a trophy, Ronaldo became Italian champion, is still great, but not as strong as a few years ago.”