The ceremony of the 2021 Ballon d’Or unleashed all kinds of different passions across the world. Many believe (including the undersigned) that the prestigious award should have been awarded to Robert Lewandowski rather than Lionel Messi. Without going into details, there are several reasons for this.

First and foremost, Robert Lewandowski has been the best football player in the world in 2021. After winning it all in 2020 with his club Bayern Munich, Robert Lewandowski accomplished the unthinkable by scoring among others 41 goals in only 29 Bundesliga games breaking Gerd Müller’s mythical record. On the other hand, despite remaining at an impressively high level, Lionel Messi’s performances were disappointing, to say the least since his arrival in PSG last summer.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=VXHiaGUYio4&feature=emb_logo

Moreover, the Polish striker should have won the prize in 2020. Any honest football observer agreed on that. Yet, the ceremony was cancelled by the organisers from France Football for “epidemiological reasons”. What’s more, his unbelievable statistics continued in 2021 during which he continued scoring with an unshakable regularity. The attribution of the Ballon d’Or to Lewandowski this year would have been the perfect opportunity to fix this blatant injustice. 

Furthermore, Lionel Messi received a red card in January 2021 for intentionally hitting an opponent in the face. This alone should have disqualified the Argentine. Let us remember that it is most certainly Zinedine Zidane’s famous headbutt during the 2006 World Cup Final against Italy which cost him the coveted prize that year. The class of the nominated player, as well as his fair-play, are (at least theoretically) supposed to be taken into account.

Finally, it is not like Lionel Messi was never acknowledged for his breathtaking feats. The 34-years old is an absolute legend of the game, arguably one of the best footballers that have ever lived. He already won the prestigious golden ball in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019. However, his last one will always be remembered as the “least deserved” from all of them.

Right after receiving his 7th Ballon d’Or, the Argentine spoke like a true gentleman to his Polish rival.

“It is an honour to compete against Robert [Lewandowski].  I think you deserve your Ballon d’Or. (…) Last year we all agreed on the fact that you should have been the winner. I think that France Football should have awarded you the prize that you deserve. You won it last year so I hope France Football will give it to you so that you can have the trophy at home,” the PSG superstar stated. 

https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1465428008026660869?s=20

Let us hope that Lionel Messi’s sportsmanship will receive the echo it deserves.

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen

Picture: Twitter @lewy_official