"Individual prizes aren't the most important thing in football" - Thomas Muller explains why Lionel Messi won 2021 Ballon d'Or ahead of Robert Lewandowski

According to Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski deserved to win the 2021 Ballon d’Or award. However, it was Lionel Messi who picked up his seventh Ballon d'Or in Paris.

Lewandowski was awarded the FIFA’s The Best prize in January 2022. His teammate Thomas Muller believes that the Polish striker deserved to win the Ballon d’Or as well.

The Bayern Munich striker came second to Messi in the 2021 Ballon d'Or race.

Muller, when asked about Lionel Messi winning the Ballon d’Or 2021 award ahead of his teammate, said:

“We know that it's decided by journalists' votes, and the winner, if everything goes well, is based on who gets the highest number of votes, and that's why Messi won. But in Munich, we have a different opinion because we see Robert Lewandowski score & play every day, and in Egypt it's normal that many see [Mohamed] Salah worthy of the prize.”

“I can understand that because everyone wants that player who represent their team or country to win, the same for South American fans and journalists who saw Messi in the Copa America. It's always difficult, everyone has their own favourite player, but individual prizes aren't the most important thing in football, what happens on the field is.”

Bayern Munich star speaks about Liverpool ace who finished behind Messi and Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski in action for Bayern Munich

Lewandowski had an outstanding 2021, scoring 41 goals in the Bundesliga in just 29 games, netting 48 times across competitions. He was a potential winner of the Ballon d'Or award alongside Messi and the third footballer to finish on the podium in 2021 - Mohamed Salah.

Strangely, despite making the top three on the Ballon d'Or list, Mohamed Salah missed out on the Best XI squad in January.

While speaking about the situation, Thomas Muller heaped praise on Liverpool star Mo Salah and said:

“It’s always hard to make the selections, everyone has an opinion, Mo Salah right now is producing outstanding performances and earning the respect of everyone around the world given what he produces.”

“It can be disappointing not being picked in the Best XI, but maybe because last summer there was the Euros, and Europe has a big impact on football, Italy has won and this automatically means the presence of multiple Italians in the line-up. It's a mix between individual performances & team effort, there's 20 players who deserve the prize but only 4 or 5 make the final cut, but of course, Mo Salah deserves to be there.”