'It’s disheartening' - Lionesses star Georgia Stanway admits she doesn't feel 'fully appreciated' for her work at Bayern Munich after Ballon d'Or & FIFA the Best snubs

Stanway had another strong 2023-24 season at Bayern Munich, whom she signed for from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, helping the German giants to retain their Frauen-Bundesliga title for just the second time in history. However, her contributions to that success were not recognised by those who hand out football's most prestigious individual accolades, with the England midfielder not among the nominees for the Ballon d'Or or any of the FIFA Best awards.

It was a fact her Lionesses team-mate Lucy Bronze responded to, telling TNT Sports of Stanway: "I’m so lucky that I get to play next to her when we play at England because I know I can rely on her more than anyone. For Georgia, and for any player, getting nominated for awards is fantastic but if you’re appreciated by your own team and your teammates, that’ll mean more to you than anything. I think that Georgia knows that."

Stanway has now spoken about the snubs, telling the Telegraph: “It’s a little disheartening to see but it’s all down to opinions, which is difficult. Maybe playing in Germany, people don’t watch as many games and what the league is like. There are not a lot of German players nominated, which I think is crazy. I think a lot of the work I do goes under the radar and I feel like I’m not fully appreciated but I know that I’m appreciated by my team-mates and my coaches and I think that’s the most important way to feel valued.

“What Lucy says, I value so much because it’s important to me that the people around me know what I do. If Lucy can rely on me that’s the best feeling ever, because I feel exactly the same with her. Maybe it [awards] will come, maybe it won’t come, I just continue to do what I do.”

Stanway's point about the lack of recognition for players in Germany is certainly worth noting, too. The Frauen-Bundesliga is often overlooked when it comes to these accolades, despite it being one of the best leagues in the world. However, the England midfielder certainly has no regrets about moving to the division and to Bayern Munich.

“There are just good people here," she said. "The team culture is really special to me. I’ve not been in many environments where everybody just gets on with everybody. There will be a message in the WhatsApp group saying, ‘Is anybody around for dinner?’ and 25 people will turn up. I really enjoyed my time at City but it was my time to leave. I needed something new, I wasn’t happy in that environment anymore. I wanted to go somewhere where there were no judgments. That’s what I got coming here.”

Just one goal away from equalling her best scoring campaign for Bayern to date, perhaps the lack of recognition will drive Stanway to new heights this season. Her team are currently joint-top in the battle to win a third successive Bundesliga title and have qualified for the quarter-finals of both the DFB-Pokal and the Champions League. If they are to be successful across the board, their England star will surely be an influential figure.