KOCHI: The whole of footballing world is discussing how Robert Lewandowski probably deserved the Ballon d'Or as he finished second behind Lionel Messi.
Messi was awarded the Ballon d'Or for the seventh time on Monday at a ceremony in Paris but he admitted that he had stiff competition from Lewandowski.
Lewandowski was in such red hot form last season that many felt he deserved the award but Messi managed to pip him by 33 points for the coveted trophy.
Former Borussia Dortmund striker Karl-Heinz Riedle felt that the Bayern Munich forward had done everything to win the trophy for his exploits in the past two seasons.
"You can always give this trophy to Lionel Messi because he is an incredibly good player but if Lewandowski can't get it for this year, he scored so many goals and he broke the record in Germany and he is an unbelievable player. If you can't get it in this season, then maybe you can never get it. So it will be a little disappointing for him. I am a great admirer of him and I think he is the best striker in the world and I felt he would have deserved it this year," he said during a virtual interaction on Friday.
The 56-year-old felt that the Polish attacker was unlucky that he was playing in the same era as Messi and Ronaldo.
"If Messi and Ronaldo were not playing this decade, Lewandowski would have definitely won it this time. This season, Robert Lewandowski deserved to win the Ballon D'or because he was the best player in the world," he said.
The forward will have to quickly put the disappointment aside as Bayern Munich takes on Borussia Dortmund in the German Clasico.
The return of Erling Haaland would give a massive boost to Dortmund who has been second best in these games in recent seasons.
"We have been very close in winning the title two or three times in recent seasons and maybe this is the year. We are out of the Champions League and so we can focus on the Bundesliga," he said.
Watch the LIVE coverage of Der Klassiker – Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund on SONY TEN 2 channels from 11:00 pm (IST) on December 4, 2021.