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Robert Lewandowski was tipped by many to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or award after an outstanding year for club and country.
The 33-year-old Pole struck over 60 times for club and country this year; nobody else even hit 50. It's one of the best-ever calendar-year tallies by any player since the turn of the century. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (twice) and Lionel Messi have exceeded this tally this century. With a month to go in 2021, Lewandowski could better Ronaldo's tally of 69 recorded in 2013.
Lewandowski created history last campaign by netting 41 times to break the late Gerd Muller's record of most goals (40) in a Bundesliga season. His extraordinary exploits helped Bayern Munich coast to a record-extending ninth-straight league triumph.
As if that wasn't enough, Lewandowski has started the 2021-22 campaign on a tear, netting 25 goals across competitions. He has also netted 11 times for Poland, including thrice at Euro 2020, where the Poles exited in the group stage. But his numerous achievements didn't seem to matter at all at the Ballon d'Or 2021 gala.
Considering his staggering numbers for club and country and major titles to boot, Lewandowski should have taken home the 2021 Ballon d'Or award. The Bayern Munich star should perhaps have known he wasn't going to win the big one after receiving the inaugural Striker of the Year award, introduced only hours before the ceremony.
That duly proved to be the case. No disrespect to Lionel Messi, but the latter's Copa America triumph swayed votes away from the more deserving Pole. Lewandowski eventually had to settle for second place in the 2021 Ballon d'Or vote.
There is no denying that the PSG attacker had another fabulous year. He has scored 41 goals for club and country this year, with four of these strikes coming in Argentina's victorious Copa America 2021 campaign.
However, Messi is yet to get going in 2021-22, netting only four times in 11 games for his new club. As impressive as Messi's 2021 numbers are, they aren't superior to Lewandowski's, which makes the Pole's snub quite baffling.
Will Robert Lewandowski ever win the Ballon d'Or?
Despite the disappointment of missing out on the 2021 Ballon d'Or award, Robert Lewandowski was gracious in commending Lionel Messi. But deep down, he knows it is one that shouldn't have eluded him, not in an ideal world.
However, 'criteria' to determine the Ballon d'Or winner is becoming increasingly inconsistent. Despite his colossal numbers for club and country, Lewandowski is likely to always come up short in the final reckoning.
The Ballon d'Or is essentially an award given to the standout player for club and country in a calendar year. Major titles are the icing on the cake. Lewandowski ticked all the boxes, both in 2020 and 2021, but he is yet to break his Ballon d'Or duck. Perhaps he never will. Let's get to that.
The Pole was plain unlucky that the 2020 Ballon d'Or award got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, Lewandowski had played key roles in Bayern Munich's treble-winning 2019-20 and Poland's successful Euro 2020 qualification campaigns. In the process, he outshone the usual suspects Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who have had a decade-long Ballon d'Or duopoly.
Far from being disheartened, Lewandowski started afresh in 2021, and put up another memorable year for club and country. However, his untimely injury meant holders Bayern Munich were dumped out of the Champions League quarter-finals.
Nevertheless, Lewandowski returned to break Muller's record on the last day of the domestic season, as Bayern won another Bundesliga title. He followed that up with a majestic start to his 2021-22 campaign.
The 33-year-old was a standout performer in a poor Poland team that endured a group stage exit at Euro 2020. In all likelihood. Poland could miss the bus for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, too. Even if they don't, they are extremely unlikely to go all the way in Qatar.
That would lead one to ponder: why should Lewandowski be punished (read 'not win the Ballon d'Or') for not playing for a top international team? Lewandowski, in all likelihood, is all set for another goal-rich year in 2022.
He'll fervently hope he doesn't need to contemplate changing nationalities to stand a chance of landing the Ballon d'Or award. That appears to be the case for now, and if it remains so, it would truly be a travesty of justice.
