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Polish striker Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are shortlisted in the men’s category for FIFA’s ‘The Best’ awards.
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski celebrates his goal against Salzburg in their UEFA Champions League match on 25 November 2020. Image: @ FCBayernEN / Twitter
BERLIN – Robert Lewandowski is confident of being named FIFA’s Best Male Footballer on Thursday thanks to his 55-goal run to help Bayern Munich win the treble last season.
Polish striker Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are shortlisted in the men’s category for FIFA’s ‘The Best’ awards.
“We were the best, there is no question about that,” Lewandowski said on Wednesday before the online ceremony at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.
After a season “in which you’ve scored a lot of goals and you’ve won everything, I don’t think there’s anyone I can compare myself to,” the 32-year-old added with confidence.
His goals helped Bayern lift the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League trophies in 2019/20 as top scorer in all three competitions.
Lewandowski has already been named footballer of the year for Germany and Europe.
Croatian Luka Modric, voted the best male footballer in FIFA in 2018, is the only player to have broken the dominance of Ronaldo and Messi since 2008.
Ronaldo has been voted player of the year five times, one less than Messi.
Can the Polish striker, whom his teammate Thomas Mueller has dubbed ‘LewanGOALski’, break the mold?
“There is no one who deserves it as much as Robert,” said Bayern manager Hansi Flick, who is shortlisted for manager of the year alongside Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa.
Bayern captain Manuel Neuer, who along with Jan Oblak and Alisson Becker is nominated for the best male goalkeeper award, says Lewandowski is “unique.”
“I’m very happy to have him on my team, and to not have to play against him,” joked Neuer.
The winners of the different categories will be decided by the votes of the captains and coaches of all the national teams, in addition to more than 200 representatives of the media, while fans will also be able to vote.
England’s Lucy Bronze, Chelsea’s Pernille Harder and French defender Wendie Renard compete for the women’s award.
However, Bayern players are well aware of the dangers of delusions.
Former Munich winger Franck Ribéry was crestfallen in 2013, when Bayern also won the treble, having been chosen third behind Ronaldo and Messi.
A year later, Neuer had to settle for third place behind the superstars despite his outstanding displays to help Germany win the 2014 World Cup.
Lewandowski scored in Bayern’s 8-2 win over Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals in August with Messi on the losing team.
A footballer for a Bundesliga club has never been voted the best player in the world.
Lothar Matthaeus, the only German elected FIFA World Player of the Year, was at Inter Milan when he accomplished the feat in 1991.
Lewandowski wouldn’t be surprised if Messi wins it again on Thursday, adding: “We will have to wait 100 years for someone like him to be born again.”
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