The Pole won the prize last month for his blistering exploits throughout 2021, the second year in a row that he’s been named the winner.
However, when the list of votes was released, it revealed a shocking snub - Messi didn’t name Lewandowski in his top three picks for the award.
In December last year, after picking up his seventh Ballon d’Or, the PSG ace said he believed the latter deserved the prestigious Golden Ball for 2020, which was controversially scrapped due to COVID.
But the 34-year-old instead chose his PSG team-mates Neymar and Kylian Mbappe followed by Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema for ‘The Best’ award.
When asked about the snub, Lewandowski felt he’s unsure of Messi’s decision to leave him out but respected it anyway.
Speaking to Polish outlet Pilka Nozna, he said:
Lewandowski, who beat Messi to the prize by just four votes, named Chelsea’s Jorginho as his top choice, followed by Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Manchester United ace, meanwhile, voted for Lewandowski, N’Golo Kante and Jorginho.
Messi’s decision to overlook the Polish international in his votes drew the ire of German press Bild, who slammed him.
Lewandowski picks The Best award over the Ballon d’Or
The Pole was favorite to win the prize in 2020 before it was canceled and was among the frontrunners for it last year too, although Messi eventually beat him.
He compared the award with ‘The Best’ and felt the second, given out by FIFA, is more objective despite being less prestigious.
Lewandowski said:
Lewandowski joins Ronaldo as the only player to win the Best FIFA Men’s Player twice, both in a row, while Messi’s only claim to the trophy came in 2019.
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