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Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich)
Robert Lewandowski is arguably the best striker in the world right now. He has been in spectacular form over the past few seasons and has been a class apart in terms of goalscoring. He is justified in feeling robbed off the award last year as it was canceled in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Lewandowski shrugged it off and continued to score goals at a staggering rate for both club and country. In the 2020-21 season, he broke Gerd Muller's record for scoring the most number of goals in a single Bundesliga season (40) by netting 41 in 29 appearances.
Needless to say, the Polish international was Bayern Munich's main man as they won the Bundesliga title last term. Lewandowski scored a total of 48 goals and provided nine assists in 40 appearances across all competitions for Bayern Munich in the 2020-21 season.
He has been unstoppable in the 2021-22 season so far. Lewandowski has scored 23 goals and has provided two assists in 17 appearances across all competitions so far. The 33-year-old scored three goals in three appearances at Euro 2020 as well but Poland crashed out in the group stage.
Lionel Messi (Argentina/Paris Saint-Germain)
Lionel Messi could well be on course to win a record seventh Ballon d'Or this year. Messi has had a mixed bag of a year. But he was in exceptional form in 2021. After taking a while to hit his stride in the 2020-21 season, Messi kicked into gear since the turn of the year.
He almost single-handedly dragged Barcelona back into the La Liga title race, although the Catalans squandered made a mess of it in the final few weeks. Messi was their best player as Barcelona won the Copa Del Rey.
But his crowning achievement was winning the Copa America 2021 with Argentina in the summer. Messi won the Golden Boot and was named the Best Player of the Tournament for his exploits at the continental competition. He scored four goals and provided five assists in seven appearances at Copa America 2021.
Messi switched clubs in the summer and joined Paris Saint-Germain. Although he has impressed in the Champions League, he is yet to score his first goal in Ligue 1 after five appearances. His recent form might have hampered his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or but he is still widely viewed as the favourite this year.
Deserved standings for Ballon d'Or 2021:
1. Robert Lewandowski
2. Lionel Messi
3. Karim Benzema
4. Jorginho
Predicted Standings
1. Lionel Messi
2. Robert Lewandowski
3. Jorginho
4. Karim Benzema
Robert Lewandowski's individual brilliance might just propel him to a first Ballon d'Or win.
