Bayern Munich hitman Robert Lewandowski is determined to add another FIFA Ballon d'Or Award to his collection after he found the back of the net again to boost his credentials in the race for the FIFA Ballon d'Or Award for 2021.

Robert Lewandowski won the FIFA Ballon d'Or Award for 2020 last month ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and the Polish national team skipper is the man to beat in the race for the 2021 edition of the FIFA Ballon d'Or Award race.

He has lived up to his status as the early favourite to win the 2021 FIFA Ballon d'Or Award by starting the year in fantastic form with three goals in two games. His nearest challengers from last year, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have two goals apiece from the first two games this year.

The FIFA Ballon d'Or Award is the pinnacle for any player as far as individual award is concerned in the footballing world and some past and present players have won it more than once. The FIFA Ballon d'Or Award was first revealed in 1956 when English football legend Sir Stanley Matthews won it while playing for Blackpool in the old first division in England.

Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano won the award in the following year (1957) and two years later, he became the first player to win the award more than once. He won the awards while he was on the payroll of Real Madrid.

Since then, nine other players have won it more than once. The others include Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Ronaldo, Marco Van Basten and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has revealed the identity of his choice for the 2020 Ballon d'Or Award despite the fact that the award was postponed as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic. France Football are the organisers of the award and they made the decision to cancel the award for the 2019/20 season.

The Ballon d'Or Award was cancelled because French Ligue 1 didn't complete the 2019/20 season because of Covid-19 and the decision was greeted with criticisms. Liverpool defender Trent is towing the same line as he believes it is unfair on key performers from last season especially Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes Lionel Messi could head for the exit door at Barcelona following the club’s embarrassing European display against Bayern Munich in Lisbon. The Catalan giants were expected to face a huge test in their Champions League quarter-final against Bayern and they miserably failed as they were thrashed 8-2 on the night.

With the 8-2 defeat, the Blaugrana have suffered their first trophyless season since 2008 and Ferdinand feels Messi may consider a fresh challenge away from the club, he told BT Sport: “What is Messi thinking going home tonight? Does he want to spend his time left in that shirt given the performances and the way the squad is looking at the moment in comparison to other teams around Europe. Has he got the time to sit there and wait? Football is a game that comes and goes very quickly in your life so these next two years where he's still going to have the power to influence games the way he does, is he going to want to be doing that but not competing for the big titles?”

Former Barcelona and Brazil great Rivaldo has claimed that Manchester City midfielderKevin De Bruyne has the potential to compete for the next Ballon d'Or awards. The Belgian midfielder has been a standout player for Manchester City this season, as he has contributed 22 assists and 13 goals in just 45 games. The comments from Rivaldo come at a time when the Ballon d'Or award has been cancelled for the 2020 campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic.

De Bruyne has made a major impact since joining Manchester City in a £54 million deal back in 2015. His statistics for City have been impressive throughout his time. In his first season with the club, he managed to get 16 goals in just 41 games. His next best campaign was in 2017-18 when he came up with two goals in 52 games. However, he has had an all-round impact this season by scoring and assisting goals.