After bagging The Best FIFA Men's Player award, Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski said it will take a while for him "to absorb" the achievement.
Lewandowski was named The Best FIFA Men's Player for the first time in his career. Also, Lucy Bronze won The Best FIFA Women's Player Award after rounding off an impeccable spell with Olympique Lyonnais in style before returning to England to play for Manchester City WFC.
"This really is something -- Messi and Ronaldo have been playing at the highest level for years and now I'm rubbing shoulders with them. This means that all the hard work has paid off. I wouldn't have achieved this without the team - they're the ones who create the situations for me. It'll take a while to absorb what I've achieved and I think I'll struggle to get to sleep tonight. But I'm really happy. We're all proud because it's an award that recognises the whole team," FIFA's official website quoted Lewandowski as saying.
"To win an award after so many years as a Bayern player is really something special. It was a long time coming for the club. I hope that we can end up shaping an era in football. We've got good young players and we're ready to step up and face big challenges and go on to win more titles. The team is functioning well and going in the right direction," he added.
Lewandowski's Bayern Munich teammate Manuel Neuer was chosen as The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper, while France and Olympique Lyonnais' Sarah Bouhaddi capped her amazing career with The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper Award. After winning the award, Lewandowski said he is now looking towards the "next trophies".
"Regardless of how many titles I may have won, it'll never be enough. I'm already looking towards the next trophies -- that's my mentality and the mindset of the whole team. Winning a title once is tough, winning it twice is even more difficult. I hope that we'll be able to celebrate with our fans next year. It was quite simply a sensational year. Staying at the top is tough, but that's what we want to do. I'd like to thank everyone in the coaching staff and all my team-mates -- I could never have done it without them. It's hard to find the right words. I'm very proud," he said.
Also, during the virtual event at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Jurgen Klopp claimed The Best FIFA Men's Coach Award for the second consecutive year, having steered Liverpool FC to the English Premier League title for the first time, 30 years after their last top-flight success.
( With inputs from ANI )
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