Former Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski has offered his two cents on who he believes deserves the coveted Ballon d’Or. The Polish striker has a few names in mind, two of which hail from his former club in Munich.
In an interview with The Athletic (captured by @iMiaSanMia), Lewandowski had nothing but high praise for Lamine Yamal, Michael Olise, and Harry Kane when discussing potential winners for this year’s Ballon d’Or. He admitted he is leaning toward Lamine Yamal bagging the prize, saying, “Of course, I push my finger for Lamine to win the Ballon d’Or, because he’s amazing, especially for his age.”
After endorsing his former teammate at Barcelona, he also turned his attention to Kane and Olise—two very viable contenders for the award.
“Harry Kane came to Bayern in his prime, and what he’s doing is amazing—how many goals he’s scoring, and especially [the fact] that Bayern missed this kind of striker after I left. With him, they’re doing a really good job. And Olise, for me, is like: ‘Wow.’ He’s the game-changer player. And I think this work and cooperation between Kane, Olise, and Díaz is like a perfect match,” said the Polish star.
He specifically praised how Bayern’s frontline has evolved, singling out the French winger as a unique, world-class talent.
“And how they played last season, I think the only thing that was missing for Bayern was the Champions League trophy. If they won the Champions League last year, that probably would be [seen as] the same as the year we had in 2020, when we won everything, because they played amazing. The Bundesliga changed a bit [since] the last one or two years compared to when I was there. If you see that Bayern Munich wins against Leipzig now, 6-1, for the league maybe it’s not the perfect game. But of course, how Bayern develops, that is something amazing that everyone can learn from them [and] try to follow them,” Lewandowski said.
“Olise has a huge future. I know that everyone is talking about Lamine, but I try to find sometimes the different players and see something, sometimes that not everyone sees yet. For me also, probably if [Olise] scored one or two goals in the World Cup, he would be the favorite also to win the Ballon d’Or, with Lamine or with Harry Kane, also. His decisions are perfect. He knows timing, he knows when he should shoot to score a goal, he knows when to play the pass, what kind of pass. I love to watch Lamine, but also Olise—to watch how they play.”
This is high praise coming from someone who knows the ins and outs of Bayern’s offense as well as the challenges of competing in the Bundesliga and at the highest levels of Europe. The race for the Ballon d’Or is close, but statements like these can tip the scales—that is, of course, if the award hasn’t already been decided.
With praise and endorsements pouring in from all directions, the expectations around Bayern’s attack have never been higher. Who do you think will win the award? Let us know in the comments!