Robert Lewandowski thinks the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo might not be seen again in 100 years – but also suggests he could be better than both.
The Barcelona and Real Madrid stars are the only players to have won the Ballon d Or since 2008 and are the two favourites to capture France Football s illustrious individual prize in 2017.
Record goalscorers for their respective clubs and in the Champions League, Messi and Ronaldo continue to set the benchmark in world football after a decade of exceptional consistency.
Lewandowski feels he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the duo but did admit it is a privilege to have played during their careers.
Asked to compare himself with the best forwards in the world, the Bayern Munich star told TV show Kuba Wojewodzki: Why shouldn t I put myself first?
He then added: It might be every hundred years that two such good players play at the same time, so I m happy to be playing in that same period.
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Lewandowski has won five Bundesliga titles and two DFB-Pokals with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern since moving to Germany from Lech Poznan in 2010.
The 29-year-old has twice finished a season as the leading goalscorer in the top flight and was also prolific in World Cup qualifying, with 16 goals in Poland s successful Group E campaign.
Lewandowski, though, had to overcome some serious self-doubt about his abilities before going on to thrive in Germany.
When I left Poland, I had a lot of complexes as every Polish man probably does that I come from Poland and am worse than everyone else, he said.
Why not me, why not someone from Poland, why should I feel worse than someone else if I can strive for the same things? My confidence has blossomed.
