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Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski has said he deserved the Ballon d’Or this year, but that the coronavirus pandemic stole it from him.
Lewandowski was the favorite to take home the award. However, it was canceled in June by organizers who said the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on soccer made it unfair to go ahead with the assessment.
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Journalists asked the 32-year-old who deserved to win the 2020 Ballon d’Or and he replied, “Me.”
The forward finished as the top scorer in the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the Champions League, accumulating a total of 55 goals in the 2019-20 season and was instrumental for his club, as he won his second continental treble in just seven years .
“We won everything we could with Bayern,” he added. “I was the top scorer in all the competitions I participated in and I think a player who succeeds would win the Ballon d’Or.”
The 32-year-old has spent the last decade pursuing his dream of winning the Champions League.
He was close in 2012-13 when his previous club Borussia Dortmund lost the all-German final to Bayern, but have not reached the final of the competition since then, missing crucial matches in the later stages through injuries.
When the final whistle sounded against Paris Saint-Germain, Lewandowski was visibly excited as he fell to the ground in celebration.
“Until now, I hid my emotions behind a thick shell, but the Champions League is the dream of every footballer and I have believed all my life that I could fulfill it,” he said.
“I was close many times, but something was missing, something was knocking us out early. Now that we won it, there was a childish joy, something natural and spontaneous. I had no control over it.”
Lewandowski failed to beat Ciro Immobile for the Golden Boot as Europe’s top scorer in all leagues, as the Lazio striker scored 36 times in Serie A.
However, he has said that he believes it was an unfair race to begin with. “I find it a shame that we play four fewer games in the Bundesliga. It would be a more even competition if everyone had the same number of games,” Lewandowski said.
“If we had 20 teams in the Bundesliga like there are in Italy, Spain, England and France, it would be more objective, that’s a difference.”
Despite Lewandowski’s incredible campaign, Germany coach Joachim Low told the kicker that he felt Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer deserved the recognition of top individual honors.
“Manu has been in excellent shape during the 2019-2020 season,” Low said.
“Manu is a class of his own. Crazy, incredible!
“I have nothing against Robert Lewandowski, he is an extraordinary scorer, but for me this year the best football in the world would be Manuel Neuer. I only look at those stops in the mini-tournament in Lisbon.”
