Bundesliga players snub Messi, pick Lewandowski as best footballer

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is the best football player and Liverpool’s Juergen Klopp the best coach, according to a survey among German Bundesliga players conducted by Kicker sports magazine.

Kicker said in its latest edition on Monday that Lewandowski garnered 43.2 per cent of the vote from 234 players polled.

Liverpool’s Mo Salah was a distant second with 20.5 per cent, and Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) third.

Klopp was first in the coaching list with 34.6 per cent.

He emerged winner ahead of fellow German Thomas Tuchel from 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea (24.8) and Spain’s Pep Guardiola from 2020/2021 English Premier League (EPL) champions Manchester City.

Bundesliga players also rated the English top-flight the best league with a big majority of 67.9 per cent.

Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich meanwhile earned the dubious honour of being voted disappointment of the current season.

That result likely has to do with his coronavirus stance rather than his skills on the pitch.

Kimmich first voiced doubts about vaccination and has been sidelined since early November owing to two quarantine periods, a coronavirus infection and related lung problems.