Lothar Matthäus, the winner of the Ballon d’Or in 1990, was surprised by the outcome of this year’s poll by France Football magazine. He expected Robert Lewandowski to win, but the Pole finished second, behind Argentine Lionel Messi. The German and British press also stressed that the captain of the Polish team deserved the Ballon d’Or.
“Honestly? I don’t understand anything anymore. With all due respect to Messi and the other great footballers who received nominations, but none of them deserved it as much as Lewandowski,” said Matthaeus, the 1990 world champion.
As announced, Messi won by a difference of 33 points. The Argentinian collected 613, while the Pole collected 580 points.
Bayern Munich, who were strongly hoping to honour their top scorer, have expressed words of support for Lewandowski. “For us, you are still the best!” the club wrote on Twitter. Bayern president Oliver Kahn joined in with the comments.
“Lewandowski deserved the Ballon d’Or as much as the top scorer award because he has been playing at the absolute highest level for years. Nevertheless, congratulations to Lionel Messi,” commented Kahn.
The German press is disappointed with the results of the Ballon d’Or plebiscite, and Bild (German newspaper) writes about the scandal.
“Outrageous choice! Lewandowski only second. Why Messi again?,” wonders the newspaper, reporting that the Pole picked up the award for the Best Scorer of 2021, although he was also due the Ballon d’Or.
The British media are also surprised by the results of the Ballon d’Or. ‘The Sun’ cites fans writing on Twitter to question France Football magazine’s choice:
“Daylight robbery! I think Lewandowski should have won this award!”
“I’m a Messi fan, but this year he didn’t deserve the Ballon d’Or. Lewandowski did a lot more to win this award”
“I wonder what Lewandowski has to do to win the Ballon d’Or – walk on water????,” write fans quoted by the newspaper.