Robert Lewandowski was robbed in 2020.

Well, maybe 'robbed' is a strong word because we are talking about a year in which the Bayern Munich superstar helped himself to Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal titles.

Oh, and that's not to mention that he was the top goalscorer in all three of those competitions, named the Player of the Season by UEFA and took home The Best FIFA Men's Player prize.

No Ballon d'Or

Nevertheless, there was no shortage of football fans who felt disappointed for the Polish striker when the global situation in 2020 meant that he missed out on the prestigious Ballon d'Or.

France Football's annual prize is widely revered as the biggest individual award in the beautiful game but was put on ice last year due to the disruptions and postponements in the sport.

But given how quickly European football, in particular, came back to life during the summer, I don't think we're alone in reckoning that the Ballon d'Or could have gone ahead as planned.

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Lewandowski's superb 2020

Nevertheless, Lewandowski can at least console himself with the fact that every other awards ceremony seemed to recognise him as the world's best male footballer in 2020.

And just because we're now two months deep into 2021, that doesn't mean that the plaudits has stopped with Lewandowski now being unveiled as the unofficial Ballon d'Or winner.

That's because FourFourTwo 'decided to step in' after the Ballon d'Or was cancelled to reveal their picks for the top 30 male players of 2020 as voted by 128 journalists from 102 countries.

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Top 30 players of 2020

And while, yes, we've happily revealed that Lewandowski has been named as the top dog, be sure to check out how the full top 30 shapes up down below:

30. Angel di Maria (PSG) - 0 points

29. Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) - 1 point

28. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) - 2 points

=26. Andrew Robertson (Liverpool) - 3 points

=26. Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich) - 3 points

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25. Marquinhos (PSG) - 4 points

24. Alisson Becker (Liverpool) - 7 points

23. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) - 10 points

22. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) - 11 points

21. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - 13 points

20. Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan) - 14 points

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19. Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) - 15 points

18. Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) - 18 points

17. Ciro Immobile (Lazio) - 21 points

=15. Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich/Liverpool) - 23 points

=15. Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich) - 23 points

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14. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) - 27 points

13. Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) - 36 points

12. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - 42 points

11. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) - 43 points

10. Neymar (PSG) - 48 points

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9. Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) - 59 points

8. Kylian Mbappe (PSG) - 64 points

7. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) - 67 points

6. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) - 69 points

5. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) - 98 points

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4. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 101 points

3. Sadio Mane (Liverpool) - 113 points

2. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - 120 points

1. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) - 561 points

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GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says

Mane in third!? Not a chance.

Ok, sure, I've been accused of plenty of Liverpool bashing in my time, but there's no way that Mane should be placing above the likes of Ronaldo, Neuer and even Van Dijk if we're talking about 2020.

Don't get me wrong, Mane was one of Liverpool's best performers in their first-ever Premier League-winning campaign, but I'd probably argue that he had a bigger impact during the 2018/19 season.

As a result, I can't help feeling that a few of the Bayern players have been seriously hard done by because I'd boost Neuer, Kimmich, Muller and Alcantara at least two or three places each. 

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But all that being said, football is a game of opinions, so we could split hairs about the minutia of the top 30 until we're blue in the face. 

What matters most is that Lewandowski has come out on top because I think we can all agree that even if he didn't officially win the Ballon d'Or in 2020, he won it in everybody's mind.