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LONDON. — Robert Lewandowski did not hide his disappointment when the 2020 Ballon d’Or award was cancelled because of coronavirus but now, having won the top men’s prize at the FIFA Best awards, he finally has his moment.

Lewandowski always looked like the obvious choice to come out on top from a shortlist also featuring Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

How could he not? His case was compelling. He scored 55 goals in 47 games last season and finished as top goalscorer in three competitions: the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League. Bayern won the treble, added triumphs in the Uefa Super Cup and German Supercup, and the striker was at the heart of it all.

But while nobody doubts his quality now, the 32-year-old Pole was not always destined for the top. As a teenager, it seemed a distinct possibility he would not make it as a professional at all.

Life was tough for a 17-year-old Lewandowski in 2005 when his dad Krzysztof, a European junior champion in judo, died.

Robert had just moved from Delta Warsaw, a small fourth division team, to Legia, one of the best clubs in the country and winners of 14 league titles.

It was supposed to be a major stepping stone in his career and Lewandowski slowly became a regular in Legia’s reserves, but a knee injury stopped his progress in its tracks.

While he was out for a few weeks, Legia made their decision. Lewandowski was not in their future plans any more. At the time, Legia thought they had better strikers and told him to leave.

After he found out, his mum, Iwona, drove him home and made him dinner. But with his professional dream apparently shattered, Lewandowski did not want to eat.

Fortunately, he took a call from third division team Znicz Pruszkow. The club always relied on buying players for little money, improving them and selling them on. As Znicz’s former president Marek Sliwinski put it, Lewandowski was their “goldfish”. They paid just £1 000 to buy him from Legia.

At the start, he was far from being Znicz’s biggest star. He earned around £230 per month and there were squad members who were paid three times as much.

However, he quickly established himself. He had found a home.

In his first season, he scored 15 goals and helped Pruszkow to promotion. He continued scoring in the second division, too.

In December 2007 Jacek Grembocki took over as coach. “Pruszkow had a decent team and five players from that team made it to the Ekstraklasa (Poland’s top flight),” Grembocki tells BBC Sport.

“But, of course, Lewandowski was a mega talent.

“He had everything: he was hard-working, technical and fast.

“After that knee injury, I think he realised there was no chance at Legia. So in order to become a pro, he had to work hard. And Pruszkow got their superstar.” — BBC Sport.