The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the football season this year has prompted France Football magazine to cancel the 2020 Ballon d'Or award. The move to skip will deny the leading candidates the honor of owning the prestigious trophy and seen to absorb most of the shock is Bayern Munich ace Robert Lewandowski.
The Polish striker leads the pack of contenders in the season, but the Ballon organizers have deemed it wise that awarding the trophy in December is not appropriate considering that 2020 is far from a typical year.
According to BBC, France Football arrived at the conclusion that denying the award this year will protect its "credibility and legitimacy." The hard decision was made to ensure that Ballon d'Or will remain beyond reproach in the years to come.
"We did not want to put an indelible asterisk on the prize list as a trophy won in exceptional circumstances due to the health crisis of COVID-19," said the French news magazine in a statement.
Pascal Ferré, the publication's editor, said the changes that occurred in the season created an unusual situation that will make it hard for the award to be handed out fairly. He conceded that the adjustments made were legitimate because of the global health crisis that has wrought an odd period in football.
"We couldn't consider this as a typical year. Exceptional circumstances led to an exceptional decision," Sports Illustrated reported Ferré as saying.
With the award canceled this 2020, there will be a lot of football superstars that are poised to miss out on the plum title. Lionel Messi, for instance, will need to wait another year to collect his Ballon No. 7. The Barcelona captain wrapped up the season as La Liga's leading scorer, and his side's performance in the Champion League this coming August is seen to either boost or dim his chance of lifting the trophy again.
Cristiano Ronaldo was ranked close to the top of the latest Ballon listing, and it's an opportunity for the Juventus star to shoot for win No. 6 and equal with his rival Messi.
Other big names can lay claim to the prestigious award, such as Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, and Kevin De Bruyne. Yet the biggest loser of them all Lewandowski, whose phenomenal run in the season made him the heavy favorite to take home the honor.
It would seem that the stars are aligned for Lewandowski to get his first Ballon at 31. The Polish, according to Sport Bible, is at present the top scorer in the Champions League with 11 goals heading to the resumption of the competition next month.
Lewandowski has also found the net 34 times in Bundesliga, and for his sterling performance, Bayern again won the league title, and the star was voted as the Player of the Season in the German competition. His total haul so far stands at 51 goals, and Lewandowski is expected to continue with his winning run in the UCL.
However, fate would have it that the star will be disappointed once more following the snubs in the previous seasons. In essence, Lewandowski has been robbed of the Ballon d'Or with the award not going out this year, said the report.
