Real Madrid Confidencial After Real Madrid's absence: Lewandowski slams Ballon d'Or, weeks to forget
The Polish forward downplays the credit for the title and states that it is due to politics and business, not football merits
Robert Lewandowski hasn't held back about the Ballon d'Or. The Barcelona forward gave his opinion without hesitation in a recent interview with the BBC.
According to the Pole, FIFA The Best is fairer than the Ballon d'Or. "The Ballon d'Or is more commercial and political," he stated. Lewandowski, who has never won the France Football trophy, did win The Best award in 2020 and 2021 with Bayern Munich.
Direct criticism of the Ballon d'Or
The forward didn't hesitate to point out that the France Football trophy is more influenced by commercial interests. "No one can understand that situation. It's part of soccer and something political," he added.
When he was asked if any Barça player deserved the Ballon d'Or, he was clear: "Yes, because of how we've played all season. Because of the kind of soccer we've shown. We have players who can be favorites for this kind of award," Lewandowski replied.
The Barça vs PSG clash
The reigning Champions League winner, PSG, leads the list of 30 Ballon d'Or finalists with nine names. Among them, Ousmane Dembélé is one of the main favorites, along with Fabián Ruiz as the Spanish representative.
Barcelona has four nominated players: Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Raphinha, and Lewandowski. Meanwhile, Real Madrid has three representatives: Mbappé, Vinicius, and Jude Bellingham.
The white team is thus tied in number of candidates with Inter Milan, which also has three finalists: Lautaro, Thuram, and Dumfries.
Challenging weeks for Lewandowski
The Pole has had a hectic summer. He has some muscle discomfort in the biceps femoris of his left thigh and won't be at the start of LaLiga against Mallorca at Son Moix.
Despite that, Lewandowski has kept his character and has made it clear that he doesn't fear giving his opinion on controversial topics like the Ballon d'Or. His message is direct: awards and recognition don't always reflect what happens on the field.
The forward hopes that in the future, performance will be valued more than external factors. In the meantime, he'll remain focused on Barcelona and on proving that, on the field, his quality speaks for itself.
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