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Bayern Munich and Poland’s super striker Robert Lewandowski closely lost out on the Ballon d’Or to one of football’s all time greats, Lionel Messi. It was a hotly contested PR battle and one which was dominated by Spanish PR flex. Lewandowski’s agent Pinhas Zahavi sided strongly with his player, like any agent should and believes the Pole deserved the award more than any other.
„Er wurde zwar nicht beraubt, aber er ist d. Mann, der ihn verdient hat. Kein Wunder, dass viele 100 Mio. von Fans das Ergebnis d. prestigeträchtigen Fußballereignisses nur schwer glauben können. Der Montag hätte damit enden müssen, dass Robert seinen 1. Ballon d’Or feierte.“ 2/2
— Philipp Kessler (@kessler_philipp) November 30, 2021
Zahavi by no means intended to disrespect Messi, but strongly believes that the 2021 Ballon d’Or did not belong to the former Barcelona captain. More than being robbed, Lewandowski being the more deserving candidate is the clear opinion of his agent.
“Very big congratulations to Messi: an impressive player and an eternal legend of soccer. But the BallonDor 2021 is not his. Not this time. The Golden Ball belongs to Robert Lewandowski” said Zahavi. “He was not robbed, but he is the man who deserves it. No wonder 100 million fans find it hard to believe the result of the prestigious soccer event. Monday should have ended with Robert celebrating his first Ballon d’Or.”
I think one thing we can all agree on is that even France football had no clue about how to do this without repercussions. Their cluelessness clearly reflected in their proceedings. Announcing that the previous cancelled year was a “factor” to be considered by the jury did not make any sense as far as the result is regarded.
Manissier: "Today we will award the Ballon d'Or for 2021, although of course I admit that the jury took into account the fact that last year's gala was canceled"
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) November 29, 2021
At the core of things it was a first international trophy vs an alien G/A figure. Lewandowski could have easily been the worthy candidate for 2021 alone. Adding in some 2020 spice means that Lewy wins it unquestionably. So, nothing is “taken into account” here.
Second, creating a new award to justify robbing Lewy felt more like an added insult rather than a compensation(let’s not even begin taking about the looks of that hideous cardboard plate of an award). If you feel you need to create a new award to compensate for someone not getting what they deserved, it usually means one of two things. You either love them too much or you know you’ve robbed them. And history clearly shows how “loved” Bayern is by France Football and non-German media.
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