Brazil and Barcelona legend Rivaldo names this player as his Ballon d’Or 2021 pick

Brazil and Barcelona legend Rivaldo names this player as his Ballon d’Or 2021 pick

Former Barcelona and Brazil attacker Rivaldo has named Bayern Munich’s striker Robert Lewandowski as his pick to win the Ballon d’Or this year ahead of the other nominees. The Brazilian also thought that Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah would also be worthy winners but has pipped Lewandowksi to the award this time.

The legendary striker, who has won the Ballon d’Or himself in 1999 knows the race for the award is very tight this time around but believes Lewandowski might have just done enough to claim the award, given his excellent goalscoring record for Bayern Munich over the past two seasons.

Rivaldo was the Ballon d’Or award in 1999 for his exemplary season with Barcelona and Brazil

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Robert Lewandowski

Rivaldo was quoted by The Mirror as saying, “Robert Lewandowski is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, when it is awarded on 29 November. He would be a deserved winner, as would Lionel Messi and Mo Salah.”

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Rivaldo also seemed to be pleased with Lewandowski’s recent performance in the Champions League where he scored a hat-trick against Benfica, although it will not have an impact on the decision relating to Ballon d’Or given the voting has already been closed.

“The Bayern Munich striker is a fantastic player – a prolific goalscorer – who makes the difference for the Bavarians as we saw once again on Tuesday when he scored a hat-trick against Benfica and assisted to another goal“, said Rivaldo of Lewandowski’s performance against Benfica.

Lewandowski has been in supreme touch for Bayern Munich over the past couple of seasons and deserved to win the award in 2020. However, he still has a great shot at winning it this year and also emerged as the bookies’ favourite ahead of Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah and Karim Benzema.

As the 29th of November edges closer, the murmurs regarding who would win the Ballon d’Or has started to build up. The Ballon d’Or will return after a gap of one year, as it was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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