Lewandowski backs Messi to win 8th Ballon d'Or
"There is only one World Cup championship and this title also has a decisive meaning in the race for the Ballon d'Or," Lewandowski told Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo on December 24. "At the moment, Messi is the number one candidate because he has won the championship he has dreamed of for a long time. Now Messi can enjoy it."
At the 2022 World Cup, Messi scored 7 goals, including a brace in the final against France, helping Argentina win the Gold Cup for the third time. The 35-year-old striker was also awarded the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball - the award for the best player in the tournament at Qatar 2022, and won the best player award five times. At club level, Messi has scored 12 and assisted 14 goals in 19 matches in all competitions for PSG since the beginning of the season.
From 2022, France Football magazine changed the criteria, when the Ballon d'Or award was awarded based on the most recent season's performance, not the calendar year. Therefore, playing explosively in the first leg of the season with PSG and winning the 2022 World Cup gives Messi an advantage in the race to win the 2023 Golden Ball.
The lack of convincing performance in PSG's debut season caused Messi to be knocked out of the Top 30 Golden Ball 2022. But before that, he was honored by France Football seven times, in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021.
Messi is about to renew his contract with PSG, and almost certainly not reunited with Barca as many Catalan fans would like. However, Lewandowski still considers playing with the Argentine star a "dream" for every striker. According to the Polish superstar, Messi "currently plays as a playmaker, participates a lot in the development of the ball and assists, but can still score many goals".
The Polish striker also said Mbappe is another candidate for the 2023 Golden Ball title, but is weaker than Messi because France lost to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final. Also because of this defeat, Mbappe lost the World Golden Ball award. The Cup went to Messi, despite winning the Golden Shoe for the top scorer with 8 goals, including a hat-trick in the final. At PSG, Mbappe scored 19 goals in 20 matches, including 12 in Ligue 1 and 7 in the Champions League.
After the 2022 World Cup, Lewandowski spends Christmas with his family in his hometown of Warsaw and will join Barca from the beginning of this week. The 34-year-old striker was suspended for three matches in La Liga for red cards and contempt for the referee in the 2-1 win over Osasuna on 9/11, Barca's last match before the 2022 World Cup. Therefore, he will be absent. when Barca received Espanyol on December 31, as a guest of Atletico on January 8 and received Getafe on January 22.
