“I only look at myself and rarely at others” – Lewandowski makes bold claim on improvement amidst Lionel Messi rivalry

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has played down his rivalry with Lionel Messi, insisting his only focus is to improve his game. The Polish forward aimed a few digs at the Paris Saint-Germain star recently amid their fight for major accolades. But it now looks like he's put that behind him.

Lewandowski was asked rather ironically by France Football to mention which strikers impressed him the most. He responded:

"Personally, I only look at myself and rarely at others. I want to constantly improve myself, every day. If I'm unhappy with one or two things from a match, I watch them again on video and I work on them immediately in the next training session so as not to reproduce the same errors again."

He added:

"I always want to evolve. Standing still is my enemy. This is also the reason why I work a lot on my positioning in relation to my teammates."

Recall that Lewandowski fired a dig at Messi shortly after the Bayern Munich forward won the 2021 FIFA Best Player of the Year award.

The Poland international claimed the FIFA prize is more important than the Ballon d'Or, which Leo won in November. As per Marca, he said:

"I have been thinking lately and I have come to the conclusion that the FIFA award is more important. Only journalists vote for the Ballon d'Or, there is no clear verification. Instead, professional football and the press vote for the FIFA award."

He added:

"Perhaps in the prestigious rankings, the Ballon d'Or is better positioned, but the recognition I received by winning The Best makes me proud because I know how hard I worked for many years."

Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi's stats so far this season

The Polish forward is having another exceptional outing this season

It's been a slow start to life for Lionel Messi, who joined Paris Saint-Germain following his Barcelona departure last summer. So far, the Argentine has made 21 appearances for the Parisians in all competitions, recording seven goals and eight assists to his name.

Robert Lewandowski, however, continues to be a shining light for Bayern Munich. The striker has recorded 37 goals and three assists to his name in 31 games across all fronts since the campaign kicked off. It remains to be seen how many goals he and Messi will end the term with.