Ballon d’Or Director confirms Lewandowski will not receive award

Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski will not receive the Ballon d’Or that never was, according to the Director of the award Nicolas Manissier.

France Football decided to scrap the award in 2020, due to the pandemic, despite the fact that all the competitions were completed, and in spectacular fashion for Lewandowski. The Polish striker led Bayern Munich to a treble and their first Champions League win in eight years, demolishing Barcelona 8-2 on the way.

During that season he registered 55 goals and 10 assists, outscoring everyone else. Many regarded it as an injustice that he was not given the award that year, with Lionel Messi even referencing that during his acceptance speech the following year. Amid talk that the Ballon d’Or could be retrospectively given the award, Manissier told Cadena SER (via Sport) that no such thing would happen.

“We are not considering awarding the Ballon d’Or to Robert Lewandowski for 2020. As an institution, we have our own regulations that we rigorously respect.”

Undoubtedly the award’s credit has been called into question in recent years, with the votes coming from a combination of journalists cited to vote on the award. Equally, the FIFA World Player of the Year Award, voted on by players and managers, has also been called into question, but it still occupies a prestigious place in the minds of footballers.