The Bayern star believes his teammate was a more worthy winner of the 2021 Ballon d’Or.
Lionel Messi defeated Robert Lewandowski in a close race to win the seventh Ballon d’Or of his career. The final rankings of the awards were highly controversial, with several football figures criticizing the selections.
Lewandowski won a historic treble at Bayern Munich in 2020, but France football cancelled the ceremony due to the pandemic. In 2021, he won another league title with Bayern while also breaking Gerd Muller’s record for most goals scored in a single Bundesliga season.
On the other hand, Lionel Messi won the Copa America with Argentina as he celebrated his first major international trophy. Prior to his move to PSG, he also won a Copa del Rey at Barcelona.
Lewandowski’s Bayern Munich teammate Thomas Muller has spoken about the Poland star’s failure to win the prize.
“We know that it’s decided by journalists’ votes, and the winner, if everything goes well, is based on who gets the highest number of votes, and that’s why Messi won,” Muller told MBC Masr.
“But in Munich we have a different opinion. We see Robert Lewandowski score & play everyday, and in Egypt it’s normal that many see [Mohamed] Salah worthy of the prize.
“I can understand that because everyone wants that player who represent their team or country to win. It’s the same for South American fans and journalists who saw Messi in the Copa America.
“It’s always difficult. Everyone has their own favourite player, but individual prizes aren’t the most important thing in football, what happens on the field is.”
Lewandowski has continued his impressive run throughout the current season, while Messi has shown significant signs of improvement at PSG lately. The competition for the next year’s Ballon d’Or will mostly depend on the upcoming months’ two big trophies: Champions League and the World Cup.
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