The Ballon d’Or award will be announced later this month, and Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi is one of the favorites to win his seventh golden ball. The other challenger for the award is FC Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.
During a segment on BT Sport, Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand and former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch spoke about who will come away with the Ballon d’Or. Both men agreed that the Poland international should win it over Messi.
“I can’t argue with Lionel Messi, can I? Let’s be honest. But I just think if Robert Lewandowski doesn’t win a Ballon d’Or in his lifetime, I think it would be a travesty,” Crouch said.
“And I think this year, with the amount of goals he’s scored… he’s got 22 goals now, and it’s October – I didn’t get 22 goals in May! This is a special, special player. Ronaldo and Messi have always been the benchmark, always, but Robert Lewandowski, it’s his time to potentially win it this year.”
Ferdinand mentions that the goal-scoring rate Lewandowski should result in the Bayern Munich man having enough to claim the award over Messi.
“In the calendar year, by the way, in the 38 games he’s played, he’s got 50 goals. No one is near that,” Ferdinand said.
“This is today in the game; the goals are ridiculous, he scores every type of goal – that’s what I love about him. He’s got your No.9 goals where you’re at the back post heading balls in like that; he’s got deft touches.”
