Robert Lewandowski Best FIFA Men’s Player for second year running

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Robert Lewandowski - TheSportingHub
In his tally of the best of the best for the year, Robert Lewandowski scored five hat-tricks in 2021. He ended on the score sheet on 19 consecutive games for Bayern Munich, a first in the history of the club. Photo: bundesliga.com

Robert Lewandowski on Monday retained The Best FIFA Men’s Player crown as the Bayern Munich strikes was adjudged the best at the annual FIFA Awards.

The Bayern Munich forward’s second triumph at The Best Awards drew him level with Cristiano Ronaldo, who was considered for the Special Award this year.

“It means a lot to win it for a second consecutive year,” said the 33-year-old star striker.

Bayern Muninch’s Polish striker Robert Lewandowski was crowned as The Best FIFA Men’s Player for 2021 on Monday 17 January 2022 at the Home of FIFA in Zurich.

In doing so, ‘Lewy’ retained his title from 2020 as the world’s best player. In the six-year history of The Best FIFA Football Awards, only Portuguese attacker Cristiano Ronaldo has previously won the prize in consecutive years, having done so in 2016 and 2017.

The Best FIFA Men’s Player winners at a glance

🏆 2016 – Cristiano Ronaldo 🏆 2017 – Cristiano Ronaldo 🏆 2018 – Luka Modric 🏆 2019 – Lionel Messi 🏆 2020 – Robert Lewandowski 🏆 2021 – Robert Lewandowski.

Immediately after the ceremony, Lewandowski took time to chat to FIFA.com about his latest accolade.

Responding to a FIFA.com question what was more emotional – to win the award for the first time last year, or to defend it this year? Robert Lewandowski said, “That’s difficult to answer. Both occasions were unbelievably good. The first time will always be the first time, but to win it for a second consecutive year means a lot to me. I think my performances in the last couple of years have developed in the right direction.

“I’m always delighted to win individual accolades because they’re also awards for my team. Anything I win, the team also wins, and that makes me very proud. So I’d like to thank all my team-mates because they make the difference. I’d also like to thank everybody who voted for me and the fans around the world. Everything we do is for the fans and so I also dedicate this prize to them.”

In his tally of the best of the best for the year, Lewandowski scored five hat-tricks in 2021. He ended on the score sheet on 19 consecutive games for Bayern Munich, a first in the history of the club.

The Best FIFA Awards 2021 round up:

Men’s player of the year: Robert Lewandowski

Women’s player of the year: Alexia Putellas

Men’s coach: Thomas Tuchel

Women’s coach: Emma Hayes

Men’s goalkeeper: Edouard Mendy

Women’s goalkeeper: Christiane Endler

The women’s world XI: Christiane Endler (GK); Lucy Bronze, Wendy Renard, Millie Bright, Magdalena Eriksson; Estefania Banini, Carli Lloyd, Barbara Bonansea; Vivianne Miedema, Marta, Alex Morgan

The men’s world XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma (GK); David Alaba, Ruben Dias, Leonardo Bonucci; Jorginho, N’Golo Konte, Kevin de Bruyne; Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi

Best fans: Denmark and Finland fans

Fair Play: Denmark’s medical team and players

Puskas: Eric Lamela

Special award: Christine Sinclair

Special award: Cristiano Ronaldo