Xavi’s Ballon d’Or statement could leave him red-faced, Robert Lewandowski will have the opportunity to remind manager Xavi of his words made in 2021 as Barcelona gets ready to begin their La Liga season. Xavi made those comments back in 2021.
Lionel Messi was able to claim the honor of Ballon d’Or winner over Robert Lewandowski last season. The Argentine was able to do so in part owing to his stellar play while wearing the Barcelona jersey before making the move to Paris Saint-Germain. Lewandowski, who was still playing for Bayern Munich at the time, missed out on a first place by a mere 33 points.
Before Barca can register Lewandowski and the other players they’ve brought in this summer, La Liga has informed them that they need to cut their financial expenditures to a more manageable level. On the other hand, if the big-money arrival plays against Rayo Vallecano, he will have a chance to show Xavi that he is wrong about anything and make him eat his words.
Lewandowski was considered one of the front-runners for the Ballon d’Or in 2020, however, the trophy was eventually not presented to the winner that year. Still, the Poland international came very close in 2021, grabbing second place ahead of the Italy midfielder Jorginho. However, Messi’s efforts for both club and country were enough to earn him the victory.
Messi pleaded with the event’s organizers to give the prize for the next year to Lewandowski, and France Football later stated that they were “thinking about” doing so. Nevertheless, Xavi took Messi’s side in the matter of the 2021 trophy despite the fact that the former Bayern man scored 98 goals over the course of the last two seasons combined.
According to Marca, Xavi made these comments in December of 2021. “Messi’s triumph is footballing justice,” he stated. “We can also consider that other people might deserve it, but the moment they open the envelope and they say Messi won it, then it’s fair,” we could say.
After being informed that he had not won the Ballon d’Or, Lewandowski told the Polish publication Kanale Sportowym, “I felt despair.” “I can’t deny it. On the contrary, I can’t claim that I was overjoyed at the time. I can’t help but feel melancholy right now.
