Reports now indicate that Lionel Messi might lose his 2021 Ballon d'Or to striker Robert Lewandoski in the new approach of France Football.
According to sportskeeda, in a shocking turn of events, France Football is considering awarding Robert Lewandoski the 2021 Ballon d'Or for his heroics in the 2019/2020 club football season for Bayern Munich during the COVID-19 period.
Did anyone receive the Ballon d'Or award in 2020?
In July 2020, the Ballon d'Or award ceremony was cancelled for the first time since 1956. An official statement was released regarding the reason behind the decision. The statement read,
"For the first time since 1956, the Ballon d’Or will take a break. There will be no edition in 2020, because it turns out, after thoughtful consideration, that all the conditions are not met. We believe that such a singular year cannot – and should not – be treated as an ordinary one. To avoid overly convoluted calculations and projections, we chose the least bad of the options."
This was a huge concern for football fans as it had been anticipated that Robert Lewandoski following his heroics in the 2019/2020 season had deserved to win the Ballon d'Or.
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The Polish forward was however nominated in 2021 but lost the award to Lionel Messi that same year. This loss raised a lot of eyebrows as to the reason behind such a shocking decision.
Will Lionel Messi lose his 2021 Ballon d'Or?
According to Republic World, Lionel Messi is not in any danger of losing his 2021 Ballon d'Or but the France Football establishment is expected to give Robert Lewandoski a Ballon d'Or based on the 2020 edition which was cancelled.
Our Thoughts
The relevance of the Ballon d'Or has continued to raise eyebrows and we believe this is a desperate attempt to restore the already lost trust in the award and its ceremony after its separation from FIFA in the first place. It is four years too late for such an award of its pedigree to be presented to a footballer who was the best in the world as of 2020.
An online ceremony could have been conducted in 2020 and Robert Lewandoski could have received his full recognition and praise on such a stage. Presenting the Ballon d'Or to Lewandoski 4 years after his remarkable season reeks of what many will call an attempt at consolation.
