Background：
In 2021, when Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or, he stated at the awards ceremony that Robert Lewandowski deserved a Ballon d’Or. Later, in an interview, Lewandowski said he hoped it was a sincere statement from an outstanding player, not just empty words.
Robert Lewandowski accepted an interview with the media, talking about his previous remarks involving Lionel Messi.
Q: Do you get along better with Messi or Ronaldo?
Lewandowski: Well, either is fine. I know what you’re probably getting at—it was an incident after Messi won the Ballon d’Or. I might have been misunderstood back then, or I didn’t express myself clearly. What I meant was that Messi’s words wouldn’t be ignored or brushed aside. Maybe my words were translated differently, leading to some controversy, especially in Argentina, where some people thought I was questioning Messi’s sincerity. It seemed like I was saying Messi’s remarks were just empty words, but what I meant was that those words wouldn’t be meaningless or have no impact.
As we all know, translation can lead to deviations from the original meaning. Because I was emotional, I can’t remember exactly what I said.
Q: I know there’s no ill feeling between you two now.
Lewandowski: Yes.
