One of football’s biggest stars has left fans bemused after wearing a surprisingly cheap watch to the 2022 Ballon d’Or award ceremony – a lavish ‘do that normally sees some of the world’s most expensive watches on parade.
The 34-year-old Polish striker, who plays for FC Barcelona, captains the Polish national football team and has a net worth of over US$85 million, made the odd decision to wear a Casio Vintage A158WETG-9AVT to the “Oscars of football” on Monday night… A watch that’s easily found at malls and market stalls across the world, and would probably only set you back around US$70.
In comparison, Karim Benzema – who ultimately won the 2022 Ballon d’Or, arguably pipping Lewandowski in the process – wore a rather lavish Richard Mille RM 65-01 Automatic Winding Split-Seconds Chronograph, the most complex timepiece the prestigious Swiss brand has ever made with a market price north of half a million USD.
Maybe Lewy should’ve worn a more expensive watch… Ah well, he still won the Gerd Müller Trophy (previously known as Striker of the Year) on the night.
Still, it’s a respectable and practical watch that no true watch enthusiast would ever knock. Modelled after Casio’s popular square digital watches from the 80s, this A158WETG features a resin case and stainless steel bracelet with a gold ion coating… Not quite the same as a PVD or solid gold watch, but it still looks the part.
Actually, it’s kind of the perfect watch for a high-performance athlete. It only weighs 45 grams, it’s water-resistant to 100m, it’s got a battery life of 7 years and has plenty of useful functions like a stopwatch.
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Not all of Lewandowski’s are quite as low-key, however. He wore a Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph (ref. 5980/1R-001) to last year’s Ballon d’Or, and he owns a boatload of Audemars Piguet pieces, too.
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