Davies: Lewandowski not winning Ballon d'Or upset Bayern players, this was his year

Alphonso Davies says Bayern Munich’s players were upset that Robert Lewandowski didn’t get the chance to win the Ballon d’Or this year.

The 2020 Ballon d’Or was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Lewandowski – who was named UEFA Men’s Player of the Year on Thursday – would surely have been the frontrunner if the award ceremony had gone ahead.

The 32-year-old won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League treble with Bayern in 2019-20 and was top scorer in each competition with a remarkable 55 goals in 47 games. Bayern have started the new campaign by winning both the DFL-Supercup and the UEFA Super Cup.

“Lewandowski is a guy who scores goals for fun and he is a great player,” Canada star Davies told the Bundesliga’s official channel.

“The thing that upset most of us was that he did not win the Ballon d’Or this year because they cancelled it. This year was his year because he won everything that there is to win at club level and he was the best goalscorer and best player.

“What I take away from him is his mentality and his will to always work to get better, to score goals, and to help the team to win.”

Bayern dominated UEFA’s awards ceremony. Captain Manuel Neuer came third in the overall best player voting but was named Goalkeeper of the Champions League Season, with Joshua Kimmich winning best defender and Lewandowski best forward.

Their treble-winning season was masterminded by Hansi Flick, a coach little known outside of Germany before his appointment but who finished his debut campaign by being named UEFA Men’s Coach of the Year.

“He is a good mentor and he talks to his players, especially his young players,” Davies said.

“He wants everybody to thrive at this club and him being the manager is good for everyone at this club. He is a down-to-earth guy and he was a player once, so he knows what we go through and how hard it is to play this game, especially with the schedule we have right now.

“We are playing every three days and it is not easy. It is truly a blessing that he is there for all the players.”