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As you know by now, the turn of events was anything but shocking: Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski was not awarded the coveted Ballon d’Or trophy — a recognition he has absolutely deserved two years running.
While the 2020 award was cancelled for some bogus reason, the 2021 version just continued to be the outward expression of Lionel Messi “fanboy-dom” that has gone on for far too long.
Is Messi a great player? Yes.
Was Messi the best player in the world in 2021? No shot.
The Argentine’s biggest resume booster for 2021 was that Argentina won the Copa America in July, as his FC Barcelona squad finished third in the league.
Meanwhile, Lewandowski broke Gerd Müller’s goal scoring record and won the Bundesliga title.
Some things are not that difficult, yet lunkhead voters continue to prove that humans are fallible.
Some of the reactions were, well, on-point:
So we all agree the Ballon d’Or no longer means anything, right?
— Richie O'Reilly (@richieoreillyIV) November 29, 2021
Just the fact that France Football cancelled it last year and then hastily put together a new award for Lewandowski this year is everything you need to know about that show. #BallonDor
— Manuel Veth (@ManuelVeth) November 29, 2021
When your PR agent warns you about the impending backlash: https://t.co/NvtX8mBidK
— Walrus in a Top Hat (@Red_Roscoe) November 29, 2021
Reply with your #BallonDor reactions in GIF form. pic.twitter.com/kIMct3jud7
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) November 29, 2021
*Cancels subscription to France Football*
— Stefan Bienkowski (@SBienkowski) November 29, 2021
France Football is a sham of an organization with a clear bias against the Bundesliga https://t.co/1LGjbbxXZf
— Jefferson “Jake” Fenner (@jeffersonfenner) November 29, 2021
#FarceFootball https://t.co/N385R5JDGz
— Ronan Murphy (@swearimnotpaul) November 29, 2021
The sad fact is that had any player scored 41 goals in 29 league games in La Liga or the Premier League there wouldn’t have even been a debate over who deserved the Ballon D’Or.
— Stefan Bienkowski (@SBienkowski) November 29, 2021
Lewandowski may not have won but this was, in truth, a massive defeat for the Bundesliga.
The Ballon d'Or is a farce. You had to literally make a new award just so you could go ahead and rob Lewy like you robbed Ribery, eh? https://t.co/Rm5jv9zy5I
— JT Charles (@JTCharles01) November 29, 2021
The goalposts keep changing.
— MERRY PHILMAS (@philneezy) November 29, 2021
2013 Ribery: A treble doesn't matter!
2014 Neuer: A World Cup doesn't matter!
2020 Lewandowski: A treble and goals don't matter!
2021 Lewandowski: Records and goals don't matter!
In the end, though, we all knew it would end this way:
Live look as I hope that Robert Lewandowski will win the 2021 Ballon d'Or. #BallonDor @lewy_official pic.twitter.com/XJpwRLHtsr
— John Dillon (@johnndillon) November 29, 2021
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