LEWANDOWSKI -'THE BEST'- * LIGHTS UP * : [ POLAND ] FOOTBALL

PARIS : Lewandowski looking for 'The Best' consolation. The Bayern striker is up against Messi and Salah for FIFA men's player of the year award.

After missing out on The Ballon d'Or, Robert Lewandowski may be in the line for a consolation victory at FIFA's ''The Best'' awards ceremony on Monday.

The Polish striker is the favorite to take the men's player of the year award while Alexia Putellas is well placed to make it a double in the women's award.

Lewandowski, who fired in 41 goals for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga last season and took his tally for this campaign to 23 with a hat-trick against Cologne on Saturday, is up against Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Paris Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi who pipped Lewandowski for the Ballon d'Or.

''You broke records and you too would have deserved to win this Ballon d'Or. You had an incredible season,'' Messi told Lewandowski when he picked up his seventh Balloon d'Or in Paris in November.

Leawandowski's 41 goals marked a new record in a Bundesliga season, one more than the late Gerd Muller netted half a century ago.

The 33-year-old was less successful in Europe as Bayern were eliminated from the Champion League in the quarter-finals while he was injured and nor was the Euro a high point as Poland failed to make it out of the group stage.

The accolade, which will be awarded at a virtual ceremony from FIFA's headquarters in Zurich, recognises the performances and achievements of players worldwide from october 2020 to August 2021. [AFP]