Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski regrets his decision of voting for Real Madrid and Portugal attacker Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of club teammate Manuel Neuer, in the Fifa Ballon d’Or vote.
The Poland skipper’s first choice was Ronaldo, followed by Bayern team-mates Manuel Neuer and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the second and third places, but he now feels the Germany shot-stopped would have been a better choice and the one he should have gone with.
“Voting for Ronaldo instead of Neuer was a mistake,” Lewandowski was quoted as saying by Welt.
“I would clearly vote for Neuer now if I had the chance. But I already cast my vote back in August or something. I would vote different now.
“I am sorry for Manu. I am really surprised that he did not even come in second and the big gap to Ronaldo also baffles me. Manuel is an amazing goalkeeper and person.”
Neuer ended in the third place and received 15.72% of the votes. He was only 0.04% behind Lionel Messi. Ronaldo won convincingly with 37.66& votes.
Neuer was outstanding at last yeara s World Cup in Brazil, as he helped his country grab their fourth World Cup and also won the Golden Glove on the way. He also assisted Bayern clinch a domestic double and has let in just four goals in 17 league games so far this season.
Former World Cup-winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer also sympathised with the German goalkeeper. He said, “I think this is unfair. It seems that in this vote success does not count as much as appearances. Keepers are in a difficult spot. People want to see goals, not the people stopping the goals.a
Neuer was polite and showed immense sportsmanship at the end of the ceremony as he said that the evening was a success even without the trophy:
a I am leaving this building with a big smile on my face. It was a winning day for me and it was a success just being in the top three. 2014 was a year with a lot of success and it will forever stay in my memory.a
Top Image Courtesy trivela.uol.com.br