France Football forgets Lewandowski's Ballon d'Or

Kane won the 2024 Ballon d'Or for his goal tally and Bayern titles, while the article argues Lewandowski was robbed of the 2020 award when France Football cancelled the ceremony due to COVID.

Harry Kane claimed the Ballon d'Or following an impressive goal-scoring season and trophy haul with Bayern Munich, finishing ahead of Mbappé and Lamine Yamal.

The article reflects on the 2020 Balón d'Or that never was. France Football cancelled the 2020 ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic, leaving a blank year in the award's history. Lewandowski, who won five titles that season (Champions League, Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and two Super Cups) and scored 55 goals in 47 matches—his best return in a single campaign—was widely expected to win. When Messi collected the 2021 award, he called for Lewandowski to be given the 2020 trophy retroactively. Pascal Ferré, then editor-in-chief of France Football, acknowledged there was no vote that year but admitted Lewandowski "would have had many chances of winning it". The FIFA Best award went to Lewandowski that year, but the article argues France Football should honour him with the 2020 Ballon d'Or at a future ceremony.