After there was initial controversy surrounding Robert Lewandowski's view on Lionel Messi's comments about him at the latest Ballon d'Or ceremony, the Bayern Munich forward has now insisted he appreciated the Argentine's remarks.
Lewandowski Reflects On Ballon D'Or Loss To Messi
When accepting his 2021 Ballon d'Or prize at the ceremony in Paris last month, Messi took time to praise Lewandowski, whom he said should still be awarded the 2020 edition of the accolade.
France Football cancelled last year's prize due to the coronavirus pandemic, a decision that did not go down too well with supporters around the world, particularly as Lewandowski was the favourite to win it.
Here is the final 2021 Ballon d'Or top 10 ranking:
There was then drama around Messi's words after various publications around Europe appeared to misinterpret comments made by the Poland international in response to what the Argentine had said.
Lewandowski, however, insisted he did not call the PSG attacker's remarks "empty", something he has done again in a recent interview.
"Messi's words towards me really touched me," he told Bild.
"They weren't empty words, it was a nice moment in my career.
"I only spoke a few words with Leo (one on one), because my Spanish is not that good.
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"I spoke with Kylian (Mbappe) in English, he then translated for Leo. It was a great night."
