Robert Lewandowski’s time at FC Barcelona has been marked by his impressive goalscoring output, even after joining the club at age 33. However, it has recently been revealed that, in an effort to avoid financial strain, Barcelona made an unusual request to the Polish star: they asked him to stop scoring goals.
Now 37, Lewandowski is enjoying the final years of his professional career while expanding his presence as an ambassador for Poland, recently traveling to Manhattan to visit the Empire State Building in celebration of Poland’s Independence Day. Another highlight this year was the release of his biography, “Lewandowski. Prawdziwy” (“Lewandowski. The Real One”).
In the book, author Sebastian Staszewski recounts that during the 2022–23 season a Barcelona executive approached Lewandowski with a proposal that left him speechless. “Robert, we want you to stop scoring goals in the final matches.” The player looked at him in disbelief. Although the league title was already decided, as well as the top-scorer award, in more than a decade playing at the highest level, no one had ever asked him to stop scoring a goal in his entire career,” the book read.
The context behind the request was financial. Barcelona was obligated to pay Bayern Munich a €2.5 million bonus if Lewandowski reached 25 goals in the La Liga campaign. With the title already clinched and the striker sitting on 23 goals late in the season, the club hoped to avoid additional payments that could further strain its delicate finances.
Robert Lewandowski of FC Barcelona celebrate with the La Liga trophy.
In the final two matchdays, a 3-0 win over Mallorca and a 2-1 loss to Celta Vigo, Lewandowski played the full 90 minutes in both matches but did not score. As a result, Barcelona avoided triggering the €2.5 million bonus, on top of the €45 million fee already paid for his transfer and the club’s broader financial difficulties at the time (which persist today).
see also
Robert Lewandowski trails Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup qualifiers record
The 2022–23 season, Lewandowski’s lone Pichichi campaign
Ironically, despite Barcelona’s unusual request, the 2022–23 campaign ended up being Lewandowski’s only season winning the Pichichi Trophy as La Liga’s top scorer. His 23 goals were enough to finish ahead of Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema (19) and Espanyol’s Joselu (16).
Since then, Lewandowski has continued to score consistently for Barcelona but has fallen short of another Pichichi title. He netted 19 goals in the 2023–24 season, and 27 in 2024–25, but was outpaced by Kylian Mbappé, who finished with 31.
