Robert Lewandowski said there were no ill feelings towards Lionel Messi over the 2020 Ballon d’Or and engaged in an awkward exchange with a journalist at a news conference in Poland on Friday.
The awarding of the 2020 award was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Messi later requested that Lewandowski hand the award anyway in recognition of the star striker’s stellar season with Bayern Munich.
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Lewandowski played a key role in helping Bayern complete the quadruple in 2020 but Messi won the coveted award after leading Argentina to Copa America glory that year.
The attacker reportedly said he hoped Messi’s words were not “empty words”, before later clarifying those attributed quotes.
The 34-year-old was speaking Welcome press conference in Poland At the team’s headquarters in Doha, where the team is preparing to face Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Argentina in Group C.
But when asked if he would publicly offer to shake hands with Messi when the two meet at the World Cup, Lewandowski asked the reporter to clarify his comments, saying, “I don’t understand the question.”
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Lewandowski continued, “Why do I need a handshake? Between Messi and me, I don’t have anything [bad] With him, I never had.
The journalist answered the question with clarification, to which Lewandowski replied: “Where and when [did I say] which – which? I don’t remember what you said like that. Maybe you saw it on Instagram and someone thought I said it that way, but it wasn’t me.”
Lewandowski is now at Messi’s former club Barcelona and when asked about a reminder of the great Argentine player at the Camp Nou, he replied: “Leo Messi is in great shape.
“At Barcelona you can see everywhere he is a legend.”
Poland will meet Argentina in the final in the pool stage on November 30.
