“After this election, I no longer understand the world”
Ballon d’Or: There is a lot of misunderstanding about the award for Lionel Messi
Source: AFP / FRANCK FIFE
This year’s Ballon d’Or award ceremony sparked a great deal of debate. While the Bayern bosses express themselves diplomatically after the defeat of Robert Lewandowski and the victory of Lionel Messi, former stars do not save with criticism.
SYou could have expressed your displeasure. But they chose the diplomatic way, the nice and friendly one. “Congratulations to Lionel Messi. But Robert Lewandowski would also have deserved the Ballon d’Or in addition to being named Striker of the Year because he has been doing absolutely outstanding every day for years, ”said Oliver Kahn, CEO of FC Bayern.
And Hasan Salihamidzic, the sports director, said: “We at FC Bayern would have given this title to Robert Lewandowski from the bottom of our hearts! We are proud to have this exceptional player in our ranks, who was rightly voted Forward of the Year. “
“No one would have deserved it like Lewandowski”
Lionel Messi, who has been playing for Paris St. Germain since the summer, received the Golden Ball for the seventh time in Paris on Monday evening, Bundesliga top scorer Lewandowski had to win the prestige election carried out by the French specialist newspaper “France Football” despite an excellent season content with second place. The fact that he was honored as the best goalscorer was little consolation for the exceptional Polish footballer.
Jean-Pierre Papin (left) played for FC Bayern from 1994 to 1996
Source: pa / Frank Leonhar / Frank Leonhardt
Many former stars reacted less diplomatically than FC Bayern. Like Lothar Matthäus, the world champion in 1990. “To be honest, after this election I no longer understand the world. With all due respect to Messi and the other great nominated players. Nobody would have deserved it like Lewandowski, ”said the Sky expert and German national record player.
Iker Casillas, the former Real Madrid goalkeeper, spoke up on Tuesday night via Twitter. “It’s harder and harder to believe in these awards every time,” he wrote. “For me, Messi is one of the top five players in history, but you have to know how to catalog the best players after a season. It’s not that hard, damn it! “
Former French striker Jean-Pierre Papin, who won the trophy in 1991 and played for Bayern from 1994 to 1996, had already told “Le Parisien” before the gala: “Messi didn’t play for five months. I’ve heard of him as a winner and I don’t understand what Messi has been up to in Paris since he won the Copa America. He has scored one goal in the league and three in the Champions League. I have nothing against Messi, of course he’s one of the best players in history, but he didn’t deserve the win this year. “
Francesco Totti, former Italian international and active for AS Roma from 1993 to 2017, said: “We are used to having to choose between Messi and Cristiano, but this year I would have given Lewandowski the trophy.”
Toni Kroos, 2014 world champion, also spoke up in the debate. “First of all, I have to say that I am not interested in individual awards at all,” he said of the award, the result of which burst into the middle of the recording of his new podcast episode “Einfach mal Luppen”. “But if they already exist, then they should be fair,” said the Real Madrid star annoyed: “And in my opinion that is absolutely not the case this time. You can also say that as someone who walks across the meadow from time to time. “
England football legend Gary Lineker spoke out in favor of Lewandowski’s retrospective honoring in 2020. In the previous year, Lewandowski had won everything there was to win with FC Bayern Munich, but the choice was canceled due to the corona pandemic. “I think the Ballon d’Or 2020 should be awarded retrospectively to Lewandowski. He deserves to win it. He deserves to have one, ”tweeted the 61-year-old lineker.
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