Messi has won the award six times while Lewandowski is the defending champion. The winner will be announced on January 17. Messi won his major title with Argentina during the Copa America Cup.
Only three players, including Argentine and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) legend Lionel Messi, are now in the race for FIFA's best player of the year 2021 award. Apart from Messi, Robert Lewandowski of Poland and Bayern Munich and Mohamed Salah of Egypt and Liverpool are competing.
Messi has won the award six times while Lewandowski is the defending champion. The winner will be announced on January 17. Messi won his major title with Argentina during the Copa America Cup. He won the seventh Ballon d'Or trophy of his career last month. Salah has found a place in this list for the second time after 2018. He did a great job for Liverpool.
Lewandowski holds two Bundesliga (Germany's top football league) records, scoring 41 goals for Munich in the 2020-21 season and 43 goals in the 2021 calendar year. The best player will be selected by the national team's coach, captain, expert media and fans through a vote on the FIFA website.