Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has been crowned the best footballer in the world right now ahead of Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi.
Lewandowski has been in scintillating goalscoring form this season and already scored 30 times in 25 appearances across all competitions.
The 33-year-old Polish star also surpassed Bayern legend Gerd Muller to become the holder of the Bundesliga goalscoring record for a single season, with Lewandowski netting an incredible 41 times in 29 league appearances.
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Despite Lewandowski’s sensational goalscoring exploits, the Bayern star fell 33 points short of Messi in the race for the 2021 Ballon d'Or.
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However, The Guardian has now released its top 100 footballers in the world in 2021 and placed the Poland captain top of the pile.
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Judging the rankings included reporters from around the world and former players and coaches, including former Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Judges awarded the first-choice candidate 40 points, second place received 39 points and ranked down to one point for their No 40 pick.
According to The Guardian, Lewandowski featured on every judge’s list and managed to top 115 out of 219 votes cast.
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Marcus Christenson wrote that the former Borussia Dortmund striker is “destined to be back on the list next year, possibly as a winner for a third consecutive year.”
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Posted below are the top 50 of The Guardian’s 100 best footballers in the world right now.
50. Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
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49. Memphis Depay (Barcelona)
48. Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea)
47. Kai Havertz (Chelsea)
46. Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid)
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45. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
44. Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain)
43. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
42. Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)
41. Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich)
40. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
39. Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
38. Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain)
37. Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain)
36. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
35. Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City)
34. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
33. Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
32. Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain)
31. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
30. Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
29. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
28. Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
27. Mason Mount (Chelsea)
26. Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
25. Phil Foden (Manchester City)
24. Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
23. Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
22. Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)
21. Pedri (Barcelona)
20. Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
19. Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)
18. Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
17. Federico Chiesa (Juventus/Fiorentina)
16. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
15. Harry Kane (Tottenham)
14. Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
13. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
12. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain)
11. Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)
10. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
9. N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
8. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
7. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
6. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
5. Jorginho (Chelsea)
4. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
3. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
2. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
1. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Topics: Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah, Karim Benzema, Jorginho, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne, Football