Robert Lewandowski is on his way to the Ballon d’Or again. Will a Pole appear at the gala?
On the evening of October 30, it will be decided who was the best footballer of 2023 according to the “France Football” plebiscite. The most famous individual award in the world of football, the so-called The Ballon d’Or will be awarded in the French capital. Will Robert Lewandowski take part in an event that will bring together all the cream of the crop?
Let us remind you that Robert Lewandowski was again nominated for the best footballer of the calendar year, this time for the 2023 edition. The Pole was awarded in the previous two years with a trophy in the “Forward of the Year” category (2021) and the “Gerd Mueller Award” (2022), respectively.
Will Robert Lewandowski appear at the “France Football” gala?
It turns out that RL9 will not be attending the awards show on Monday evening. Journalist Victor Navarro announced Lewandowski’s absence in Paris, revealing the composition of the FC Barcelona delegation. There is no Polish sniper among the people representing the Spanish champions.
Lewandowski’s teammates included: Ilkay Gundogan, Alejandro Balde, Pedri, Gavi and Marc-Andre ter Stegen. There is also no shortage of female players from the Catalan club, who practically dominate every year in plebiscites organized either by FIFA or thanks to the editors of “France Football”.
One more “almost Catalan” thread is interesting. The favorite of bookmakers, experts and newsmen (including the famous Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano) is Lionel Messi to win. The Argentine, an icon of the Pride of Catalonia from years ago, has won the Ballon d’Or seven times in his career. Currently, as a footballer playing in the United States, for Inter Miami, he is expected to win for the eighth time.
Has a Pole ever won the Ballon d’Or?
One of Messi’s successes, which particularly concerned Polish fans, was 2021. At that time, it seemed that Lewandowski would win the Ballon d’Or. However, RL9 lost to the Argentine by 580 to 613 votes.
In the history of the plebiscite, which has been organized since 1956, no Polish footballer has won. Apart from Lewandowski (2021), who was second in the classification, Kazimierz Deyna (1974) and Zbigniew Boniek (1982) also stood on the podium. Both outstanding members of the Polish national team took third positions. Let us add that these were two editions in which the White and Reds stood on the podium of the world championships.
Lewandowski, apart from second place two years ago, was also fourth in 2015. Interestingly, Messi also triumphed then.
The 2023 Ballon d’Or gala starts on Monday evening (i.e. October 30) at 9:00 p.m. The event will be broadcast live on TVP Sport and on the station’s website and mobile application.
