Lewandowski, Messi, Ronaldo: The top 10 male players of 2021 have been ranked by IFFHS | OneFootball

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·25 November 2021

Lewandowski, Messi, Ronaldo: The top 10 male players of 2021 have been ranked by IFFHS

Article image:Lewandowski, Messi, Ronaldo: The top 10 male players of 2021 have been ranked by IFFHS

Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski are poised to battle it out for the biggest individual awards in football over the coming weeks.

While Jorginho, Cristiano Ronaldo and N'Golo Kante are also in contention to win, it's really starting to feel as though it's a two-horse race between the Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain stars.


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Messi finally broke his silverware duck in international football by winning the Copa America for Argentina this summer, while also ending his historic Barcelona career with another Pichichi Trophy.

Lewandowski vs Messi

Meanwhile, Lewandowski won the European Golden Shoe with an insane record of 48 goals in 40 games last season and already has 25 strikes from 19 appearances to his name in 2021/22.

As such, you just know that prizes like the Ballon d'Or and FIFA's 'The Best' award will come down to just a few votes with Messi the favourite for the former and Lewandowski touted for the latter.

However, if you're itching to dive straight into awards season and find out who might take home the trophy, then fear not because one of the first prestigious accolades has been announced.

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Top 10 players of 2021 named

And it's an early victory on the scoreboard for Lewandowski with his sensational start to 2021/22 clearly tipping the scales in his favour as he finished above Messi by a comfortable 45 points.

Ahead of France Football and FIFA's premier prize giving ceremonies, it really is an interesting development on the awards circuit and you can check out how the full top 10 lined up below:

10. Erling Braut Haaland - 5 points

Article image:Lewandowski, Messi, Ronaldo: The top 10 male players of 2021 have been ranked by IFFHS

=8. Gianluigi Donnarumma - 8 points

=8. N'Golo Kante - 8 points

7. Cristiano Ronaldo - 15 points

=5. Kylian Mbappe - 20 points

=5. Mohamed Salah - 20 points

Article image:Lewandowski, Messi, Ronaldo: The top 10 male players of 2021 have been ranked by IFFHS

4. Kevin De Bruyne - 35 points

3. Jorginho - 40 points

2. Lionel Messi - 105 points

1. Robert Lewandowski - 150 points

Article image:Lewandowski, Messi, Ronaldo: The top 10 male players of 2021 have been ranked by IFFHS

Lewandowski gets the nod

Is it just me who feels as though seventh place is a little bit harsh on Ronaldo?

Lest we forget that he won the Golden Boot in Serie A and at Euro 2020 as well as breaking the world-record for the most international goals in history, so finishing below Mbappe feels cruel.

That being said, we're inclined to agree with IFFHS when it comes to picking Lewandowski over Messi with his outrageous goalscoring record in the last few months seeing him sneak ahead.

His trophy cabinet this year doesn't quite compete with Messi, but we've got to remember that this is ultimately an individual prize and nobody has been better than Lewandowski on their own esteem.

Article image:Lewandowski, Messi, Ronaldo: The top 10 male players of 2021 have been ranked by IFFHS

ENTER GIVEAWAY

  1. Argentina Football
  2. Bayern Munich
  3. Cristiano Ronaldo
  4. Football
  5. France Football
  6. Gianluigi Donnarumma
  7. Jorginho Frello Filho
  8. Kevin De Bruyne
  9. Kylian Mbappe
  10. Lionel Messi
  11. Mohamed Salah
  12. N'Golo Kante
  13. Paris Saint-Germain
  14. Robert Lewandowski
  15. UEFA Champions League
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