Robert Lewandowski who has been named the Best FIFA Men's Player for 2021, said without Gerd Muller he wouldn't have managed all this.
The 33-year-old attacker defended his title from last year as he beat Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool to the top spot. Lewandowski received the award virtually at The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on Monday night.
"I feel very honoured, very proud and happy. I want to thank my teammates. We all work hard to win trophies. This is a title for everyone around me," said Lewandowski, as per fcbayern.com.
"Everything that happened last year, the Bundesliga record, I wouldn't have dared dream that would happen. If someone had told me a few years ago, I wouldn't have believed it," continued the 33-year-old.
The Polish marksman also paid tribute to the late Gerd Muller: "Unfortunately, Gerd is no longer with us. But without him I wouldn't have managed all this. It's always about what I can do next, to achieve the next record."
In 2021, the Polish international broke two seemingly unsurpassable records set by Bayern legend Muller: In the 2020/21 Bundesliga season, Lewy scored an incredible 41 goals (Muller's previous record was 40 goals in the 1971/72 season).
In addition, FCB's number 9 also set a new record with an incredible 43 Bundesliga goals in the 2021 calendar year (Muller's record was previously 42 goals, in 1972). With a staggering 58 goals in all competitions for FCB in 2021, Lewandowski was by far the most successful goal scorer in Europe's top 5 leagues.
Last weekend he broke the 300-goal mark in the Bundesliga. Muller is the only player with more than him on 365.