Fresh details have emerged about an unexpected episode involving Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski, as a newly released biography claims the club instructed the striker to stop scoring goals near the end of his first LaLiga season.
The revelation is contained in the book “Lewandowski. Prawdziwy” (Lewandowski. The Real One) by author Sebastian Staszewski, who outlined what transpired behind the scenes during the closing weeks of the 2022/23 LaLiga campaign.
According to the publication, Barcelona’s hierarchy approached Lewandowski shortly after the team had secured the league title under former manager Xavi Hernández, with two matches still to be played. At that point, the Polish forward was leading the LaLiga Golden Boot race with 23 goals and was on course to extend his tally.
Staszewski reports that Lewandowski was summoned for a private discussion with senior club executives.
During the meeting, a board member allegedly told him:
“Robert, we need you to stop scoring goals in the last two matches.”
The request, the book explains, was not related to tactics or squad rotation. Instead, Barcelona were attempting to avoid triggering a performance-related add-on in the striker’s transfer agreement with Bayern Munich.
If Lewandowski had reached 25 league goals, Barcelona would have been obligated to pay Bayern Munich an additional €2.5 million, a clause the cash-strapped Catalan giants were reportedly desperate to avoid.
Lewandowski finished the campaign as LaLiga’s top scorer, but the newly exposed conversation sheds light on the club’s financial challenges during that period and adds another layer to the narrative surrounding his transfer from Germany to Spain.
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