Robert Lewandowski Wins FIFA's The Best over Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo

Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski was named The Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year in 2020 on Thursday, besting Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Lewandowski said, per ESPN:

"To win such an award and share this title with [previous winners] Messi and Ronaldo is unbelievable and means so much to me. I am very proud and happy. This is a great day for me, and also for my club and colleagues. This award also belongs to my colleagues, the coach and Bayern in general. It is an incredible feeling, a lot of emotions."

It's a bit of an upset any time Messi or Ronaldo don't win this award. Among current players since 2008, Messi has won it six times, Ronaldo five times and Luka Modric once (2018).

Ronaldo didn't seem thrilled to be a runner-up:

Lewandowski, 32, is a worthy winner, however. The Poland star scored 55 goals for Bayern Munich last season as they were Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal champions. In a year without the Ballon d'Or, canceled because of COVID-19, winning FIFA's The Best was the preeminent honor in men's world football this year. 

"We won everything we could with Bayern," Lewandowski told reporters in late August. "I was the top scorer in all competitions I featured in, and I think a player who achieves this would win the Ballon d'Or."

As for the other winners Thursday, Manchester City's Lucy Bronze won The Best FIFA Women's Player of the Year, Bayern's Manuel Neuer was named best goalkeeper, Tottenham's Heung-Min Son won the Puskas Award for best goal, Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp was named Men's Coach of the Year for the second time, and Netherlands manager Sarina Wiegman won Women's Coach of the Year for the second time.