The Commander's Cross of the Polonia Restituta Order was handed to Lewandowski for his "outstanding sports achievements and for promoting Poland in the international arena," according to Błażej Spychalski, press spokesman for President Andrzej Duda.
The ceremony took place at the presidential palace in the Polish capital as the national soccer team gathered for a training camp ahead of upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
In presenting the award, Duda thanked the Polish star striker for representing his country "in an extraordinary way" and for “always emphasizing" the fact he is Polish.
"As the president of the Republic of Poland, I thank you for that,” Duda said, addressing Lewandowski.
He added: “You represent us all – you are helping raise Poland’s profile worldwide.”
Lewandowski, who captains the Polish team, on Saturday scored his second hat-trick of the month as his Bayern Munich side beat Stuttgart 4-0 in the German Bundesliga.
On March 13, the Pole scored a goal in Bayern's game against Werder Bremen to become the Bundesliga's second-highest scorer in history.
The Polish goal machine has scored a remarkable 35 goals from 25 games in the German Bundesliga this season and leads the table among the division’s top scorers.
The Poland international also leads a ranking of the top scorers in Europe's biggest football leagues this season.
Lewandowski in December won FIFA’s 2020 Best Men’s Player award, beating Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
The Poland captain was also named Player of the Year at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai in late December.
The awards capped off a remarkable year for the Polish marksman, who scored 47 goals in 44 games for his club and country in 2020.
The 32-year-old was in October named UEFA Player of the Year, a major European football honor adding to a long list of accolades for the Polish marksman.
Lewandowski was last June crowned the top scorer of Germany's Bundesliga premier league in the 2019/2020 season, his fifth such trophy since he began playing in Germany in 2010.
The Pole in March 2019 became the highest-scoring foreign player of all time in the Bundesliga, moving ahead of Peruvian Claudio Pizarro.
(gs/pk)
Source: PAP
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