After last season, doubts arose about Robert Lewandowski. The experienced striker scored 19 league goals, but the team finished second behind Real Madrid and the coaching staff questioned whether, at his age, he still had the ability to press and meet the demands of the game without the ball to command Barcelona’s attack.
They even considered selling it.
Six months later, Lewandowski remains at Barcelona, which leads La Liga, having thrashed Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, his former club, in the last month. Lewandowski is the top scorer in Europe’s top five leagues across all competitions, with 19 goals in 17 matches.
What changed were the members of the coaching staff who doubted him. Hansi Flick replaced Xavi as coach, and the team also brought in new talents from the academy, such as Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi, awakening Barcelona as a European force.
Lewandowski, who turned 36 in August, has been a vital part of that success.
But even for a player with his vast experience, the Polish striker admits there has been a steep adaptation process since his arrival as the team’s main signing in the summer of 2022.
“It may be difficult to compare with other clubs, but everything gets very noisy at Barcelona,” Lewandowski told The Athletic. “I learned, in my years at the club, how to stay away from it. In the beginning, I read and heard a lot of misinformation and, in some cases, I didn’t understand why it was happening.”
But, he said, once he understood the new media landscape better, he decided to disconnect from it. “I don’t focus on that stuff anymore; it’s too much and it’s not good for the longevity of your career.”
It wasn’t just the media that demanded adaptation from Lewandowski. He plays a significant role in a locker room full of precocious talent. He is 19 years older than Yamal and Cubarsi, 16 years older than Gavi and 15 years older than Alejandro Balde, Marc Casado and Fermin Lopez.
At a time when Barcelona needed them, due to the club’s financial constraints, the next generation of players appeared and made a huge impact on the first team. For the older players, especially those who didn’t leave La Masia, it was important to understand and embrace these new talents.
“Young people are completely different now,” said Lewandowski. “When I was younger, when a senior told me to do something, I obeyed directly without question. Now, it’s different. It’s neither good nor bad, don’t get me wrong, it’s just different. They are fearless in every way , and not just in football. Society is like that. Young people are more fearless and self-confident.”
Flick has acted as a unifying factor between these two worlds, the old and the new. When he was appointed, some saw only a German coach who didn’t speak the language, but he embraced the job, improved the team and quickly won over the skeptics.
Lewandowski had previously worked with Flick at Bayern, achieving great success in 2020, when they won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League. The striker, who was named UEFA player of the year during his time in Munich with Flick, says the 59-year-old’s management has been crucial to Barcelona’s progress.
“Not just as a coach, he is a very direct and fair person,” said Lewandowski. “Even with the players who don’t play, he tries to talk to you and tell you the truth.”
The admiration is mutual. In September, after Barcelona beat Getafe 1-0 with a goal from the striker, Flick said: “Lewandowski is, for me, the best number 9 of the last decade of football.”
Lewandowski said he appreciated the public praise, but that is not what matters to him. Last season, Xavi was complimentary about Lewandowski to the media, but this did not translate into the club’s planning in May.
“The most important thing is what he tells me in private, in the dressing room, in meetings or every day in training,” Lewandowski said of Flick.
“Sometimes he doesn’t say something to the media, but he tells me directly. That’s key.”
In 2022, Lewandowski signed a three-year contract with Barcelona, extendable for a fourth season if he plays more than 50% of the minutes in the 2024-25 campaign. Everyone at the club hopes that this number is reached and that Lewandowski remains Barça’s number 9 for another year.
“Maybe in two or three years I’ll feel like I don’t want to play at the highest level anymore, but at that age you can’t know exactly what’s going to happen,” he said. “But I feel like I’m where I dreamed of being, in the right place with the right people.”
Lewandowski’s contract at Barcelona has been a frequent topic of discussion at the club. He is one of the highest-paid players, and team president Joan Laporta revealed in September that the striker had offered to “adjust his contract” so that he could help Barça’s finances book new signing Dani Olmo. in time.
“If we can put the club in a better place,” he said, “it will also have a good impact on me, so that’s a win-win and the best way to live my profession.”
Barcelona are winning a lot at the moment and are on track to automatically qualify for the Champions League round of 16. Lewandowski, at 36, continues to play a prominent role.
