The Bayern Munich striker, Robert Lewandowski, has long been among the world’s best players. He has been compared with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in every major aspect, including scoring more goals than either of the two. However, is Lewandowski truly greater than Messi or Ronaldo? In this article, we will look at His all-round game and determine whether He can win the Ballon d’Or in 2022.
Lewandowski’s all-round game
Robert Lewandowski is a feared all-rounder who relishes physical battles with opposing defenders. At just 33 years old, Lewandowski has improved a lot over the past couple of years. He has increased his goal-scoring record and is already an impressive player in the Bundesliga. If he continues to develop, he might surpass Ronaldo’s stats.
Robert Lewandowski is Bayern’s target man and a vital cog in the build-up play. In the 2019-20 Bundesliga, he was involved in 43 open-play sequences that ended in goals, and he has scored 27 goals. In the competition, he has also assisted 16 other teammates and contributed to an average of 8.5 xG.
Salah is close behind Lewandowski in the all-round statistics. He averaged one goal per game last season, while Messi scored one every ninety minutes. The three of them both have attacking all-round skills, but Salah’s is the more complete player. With his ten goals, Lewandowski would have won the Ballon d’Or in 2018.
Robert Lewandowski is enjoying the best season of his career, and he’s already scored more goals than Ronaldo and Messi combined. The German forward averages one goal every 74 minutes. During his career, Lewandowski has reached 40 goals, and he’s on pace to hit that mark again in 2019-20. Cristian Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have yet to achieve that mark.
While Messi and Ronaldo have great all-round games, Lewandowski’s versatility and pace is even more impressive. He is the first German to win the FIFA Best Men’s Player award in 2021. His recent goal-scoring exploits have put him on track to break the record set by Gerd Muller in the Bundesliga. Although Lewandowski has many advantages over Ronaldo, his ability to score goals has won him international recognition.
In the Champions League, Lewandowski has more fans. He is younger and more experienced than both Messi and Ronaldo. Lewandowski has scored more goals in the Champions League than Ronaldo has. His hat-trick in the tournament was the fastest ever recorded. In the league, Lewandowski has a higher strike rate than either Messi or Ronaldo.
His record-breaking goalscoring exploits
Both Ronaldo and Messi are once-in-a-generation players. Both have wowed fans around the world with their goal scoring exploits. The debate over which player has more goals remains a recurrent topic among fans, and can often lead to heated arguments. However, the debate has also been useful for gauging whether a player is better than another. The following is a breakdown of the goalscoring exploits of each player.
Messi has a longer scoring history than Ronaldo, as he has scored more goals in a single season. His tally in the UCL is 113. In comparison, Ronaldo has only scored seven goals in his three UCL campaigns. However, Ronaldo’s tally of 116 goals is a bit more impressive than Messi’s. Ronaldo is one of the most prolific scorers in European competitions, with over 550 goals in his career.
His La Liga scoring record is even more impressive. Messi scored four La Liga goals against Arsenal in 2010, including a hat-trick. A year later, he scored five against Bayer Leverkusen, extending his record to seven goals in a single season. Ronaldo’s total of 189 La Liga games is just one goal shy of Messi’s four-digit mark.
While Messi has surpassed Ronaldo’s record for goals scored per game in UEFA competitions, his global total remains the best of all time. However, he has never surpassed Pele’s record of 77 goals in 177 club games. Messi, by contrast, has a goal scoring average of 0.81 goals per game in all UEFA competitions.
The Portuguese star has become the highest-scoring player in the history of international football. His goal ratio is one goal per game, and he has won titles in every major league. Both Messi and Ronaldo are great at scoring last-gasp goals, but Ronaldo is more consistent and has a similar philosophy to MS Dhoni. He believes every second counts, so he often scores last-minute goals that ultimately win a game.
Messi has spent the entirety of his career in the Spanish La Liga, with four hundred and eighty-two goals. He has won 10 league titles with Barcelona. However, the record-breaking ratio of goals scored by both players will not be equal until 2021. The comparison between Ronaldo and Messi is interesting as a number of players can achieve this goal ratio in the same time span.
His all-round game compared to Messi and Ronaldo
When comparing the all-round games of the two most famous players in world football, it’s easy to draw a comparison between Ronaldo and Messi. Ronaldo is the more physical of the two and is known for his extraordinary burst of pace and dominance in the air. He is perhaps best known for his incredible goals, which he can score from every angle. On the other hand, Messi is less physically imposing than Ronaldo but is a far more creative forward. In fact, Messi is often referred to as a soccer magician.
Despite his size, Messi’s dribbling and heading skills are unrivaled. While his slender frame makes him less attractive to opposing defenders, he can pack some serious power behind his shots. By contrast, Ronaldo is the perfect physical footballer. The Portuguese star is 6 feet 2 inches tall and has a perfect physique. In fact, many of his goals have come from heading.
However, comparing stats in this way is not useful. It’s useless, and in some instances it can lead to critical or elitist analysis. For example, in the 2013/2014 season, Messi was accused of having a “bad season.” In fact, he made 46 appearances in all competitions during this period and scored 41 goals and contributed 14 assists. Ronaldo, on the other hand, failed to score in a single game.
When comparing the all-round games of Ronaldo and Messi, the latter is the better all-round player. Ronaldo is a more physical specimen, but his goalscoring abilities are unmatched by his all-round game. Messi is more technically gifted, but he has also shown tactical awareness and the ability to influence the game without touching the ball. Both players have leadership qualities, but Messi is more complete.
While Ronaldo has more goals in the Champions League, Messi has the better season average. He hit a high of 73 goals in 2011-12, but after a bad PSG season in 2021-22, his average has dropped. Messi’s goal return has remained constant. The Portuguese player is currently chasing Ronaldo in the Champions League goals chart, while Ronaldo has raced ahead of him in the European Cup scoring charts.
His chances of winning the Ballon d’Or in 2022
Robert Lewandowski’s chances of winning a fourth Ballon d’Or title are slim, but they are not non-existent. At just 21, he has already scored several goals in his debut season with Bayern Munich and is a definite contender for the award next year. His club, Borussia Dortmund, are also in the hunt for a sixth straight Bundesliga title, and he has eight goals in eight Champions League games. His outstanding form has been instrumental in the German side’s bid for a fifth consecutive European Cup.
If Lewandowski wins the Ballon d’Or in 2021, he would be the first Polish player to do so. His teammates, however, must support him, too. The French soccer association’s secretary, Jean-Michel Ferre, has said that “history must be respected.”
If Lewandowski can stay in good form, he stands a good chance of lifting the trophy in 2022. With Salah and Lewandowski leading Real Madrid, the two are likely to challenge for the Champions League this year. In the meantime, he could also become an important figure in the Brazilian national team. Should he win the World Cup, his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or will increase even more.
There are multiple players in the running for the Ballon d’Or in 2021, and multiple teams are hoping for a Polish player to win the award. A number of other players have also made it clear that they deserve the prize. Lionel Messi, Jorginho and Lewandowski all have the potential to win the prize. However, Lewandowski has struggled to find scoring positions in his games and is struggling to find a place on the pitch.
With the Ballon d’Or 2020 in its final year, Lewandowski’s chances of winning a seventh Ballon d’Or have been put under the microscope. While it is possible that Lewandowski will be a worthy winner, the odds are still extremely slim. The odds are constantly changing, so it is best to stay up to date on the odds to avoid being disappointed.
