Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski on Monday scooped the Best FIFA Men’s Player award ahead of fellow contenders Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah.
The 33-year-old Polish striker has been in sensational goalscoring form and capped off 2021 by scoring a whopping 69 times in total for club and country.
Lewandowski’s incredible predatory finishing saw him score an incredible 41 times in 29 Bundesliga appearances in the 2020-21 season, which shattered the record formerly held by Gerd Muller.
And the Poland captain has been crowned the Best FIFA Men’s Player at the FIFA ceremony held in Zurich, Switzerland, on Monday.
Lewandowski won the aforementioned award in 2020 after receiving 52 points, putting him well clear of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 38 points and Messi’s 35 points.
The former Borussia Dortmund striker missed out on France Football’s coveted Ballon d’Or award in 2021 to Messi.
Messi secured his record-extending seventh Ballon d’Or award after receiving 613 points, with Lewandowski finishing second on 580 points.
Lewandowski was widely tipped to win the 2020 edition of the Ballon d’Or before France Football cancelled the award due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Messi, 34, paid tribute to Lewandowski in his classy acceptance speech at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, with the Barcelona legend insisting that his fellow nominee ‘deserved’ the Ballon d’Or.
Lewandowski claimed that he was “really touched” by the Paris Saint-Germain superstar’s heartwarming words at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
“Messi’s words towards me [about the Ballon d’Or] really touched me,” he told Bild.
“They weren’t empty words, it was a nice moment in my career.
“I only spoke a few words with Leo [face to face], because my Spanish is not that good. I spoke with Kylian [Mbappe] in English, he then translated for Leo. It was a great night.”
Lewandowski has maintained his scintillating goalscoring form for the current campaign and scored 34 times in 27 appearances across all competitions
