Bayern Muninch's Polish striker Robert Lewandowski was crowned as The Best FIFA Men’s Player for 2021 on Monday 17 January 2022 at the Home of FIFA in Zurich. 

In doing so, ‘Lewy’ retained his title from 2020 as the world’s best player. In the six-year history of The Best FIFA Football Awards™, only Portuguese attacker Cristiano Ronaldo has previously won the prize in consecutive years, having done so in 2016 and 2017. 

🏆 2016 – Cristiano Ronaldo 🏆 2017 – Cristiano Ronaldo 🏆 2018 – Luka Modric 🏆 2019 – Lionel Messi 🏆 2020 – Robert Lewandowski 🏆 2021 – Robert Lewandowski Immediately after the ceremony, Lewandowski took time to chat to FIFA.com about his latest accolade. FIFA.com: Robert, you have been named as The Best FIFA Men’s Player for a second successive year. Was it more emotional to win it for the first time last year, or to defend your crown this year? Robert Lewandowski: That’s difficult to answer. Both occasions were unbelievably good. The first time will always be the first time, but to win it for a second consecutive year means a lot to me. I think my performances in the last couple of years have developed in the right direction. I’m always delighted to win individual accolades because they’re also awards for my team. Anything I win, the team also wins, and that makes me very proud. So I’d like to thank all my team-mates because they make the difference. I’d also like to thank everybody who voted for me and the fans around the world. Everything we do is for the fans and so I also dedicate this prize to them. 

You broke Gerd Muller’s long-standing Bundesliga goal record, which had stood since 1972. How much did Muller, who has sadly passed away, spur you on to break this record I’m very sorry that Gerd isn’t able to witness this today, but I’m sure he was watching from above. I’d never have thought it possible to break his incredible record. The moment when I scored the 41st goal in the last minute against Augsburg was like in a Hollywood movie. It means a great deal to me to measure myself against such a huge legend from world football, and without him I wouldn’t have had that aim or motivation. So I’m very proud of the record.

Among your next challenges in this calendar year is qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ with Poland. That won't be easy, will it? It definitely won’t be easy but we’re ready for the challenge awaiting us in the play-offs. We’re going up against strong teams and outstanding players, but our objective is to participate at the World Cup. We’ll prepare ourselves well and keep believing in ourselves. I hope to be able to make the difference with my goals and to just be prepared and give my all.