“Everything Robert won at Bayern Munich, the goals he scored, was all to achieve his goal now: to play for Barcelona.”
Robert Lewandowski’s career has been filled with goals, but two years ago he achieved his ultimate ambition. The quote above comes from a source close to the 35-year-old forward – who, like everyone cited in this article, prefers to speak anonymously to protect relationships.
Joining Barcelona is Lewandowski’s long-term goal. But since joining in July 2022 for €45 million (£38.5 million; $48.7 million at current exchange rates), everything has not been as rosy as he expected. This season has not been his best and there is uncertainty over his place at the club – although he has started to show better form in front of goal in this week’s Champions League last-16 first leg at Napoli.
Lewandowski was the star of Barcelona’s La Liga clash with Celta Vigo on Saturday, scoring twice, including the 97th-minute penalty winner, and has been in Barcelona’s last three games. Four goals were scored.
However, when looking back at what has been a very disappointing season for Barcelona so far, the recent momentum shows up as a rare bright spot. Lewandowski is not the only player to have struggled, but his status as a big-name signing has brought him under extra scrutiny and concerns over his suitability have been growing for some time.
Lewandowski’s arrival at Barcelona represents the real starting point for a new project under Xavi. One of Europe’s most prolific strikers is a role model for a new generation, helping the club forget Lionel Messi’s painful departure.
Now, that “plan” is essentially over, and Harvey will resign at the end of the season. Lewandowski looks set to face a tight transfer window in the summer, with some at the club already determined to seek a sale – unless he can prove the doubters wrong.
“Many people believe that Barcelona needs a franchise player. The central figure selling the jersey represents the public face of the team and becomes the reason to attract fans to the stadium. Deep down, this is Lewandowski Reasons why Key signed in 2022.”
This is how a senior club source describes Barcelona’s big gamble to sign Lewandowski from Bayern two years ago. The club’s biggest legend, Messi, left in tears last summer, while other key figures such as Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba appear to have settled in Catalonia The final stage of your career. The Camp Nou decided it needed a new icon and president Joan Laporta set his sights on Lewandowski.
The trade that brought him in wasn’t entirely immune to criticism at the time. In the summer of 2021, Barcelona decided not to renew Messi’s contract to help solve the club’s financial problems. A year later, they spent 45 million euros to buy the 33-year-old Lewandowski, signing a three-year contract with him and a fourth option. In August this year, he will turn 36.
If Messi’s deal is completed, the Argentine will earn 20 million euros in the first year of the new contract, and then his salary will rise significantly. According to reports, Lewandowski’s average annual salary over four years is 26 million euros.
But Lewandowski sprang into action. In the 2022-23 season, he scored 33 goals and provided 8 assists in all competitions. He became La Liga’s top scorer with 23 goals, helping Barcelona win its first league title in four years. Despite yet another Champions League defeat (they were eliminated in the group stages), Barca fans have reason to hope they see the start of bigger things.
However, you can also see early signs of problems starting to develop into the present.
The 2022 World Cup is obviously a turning point in Lewandowski’s debut season. Before the start of the season, he had scored 13 goals in the first 15 La Liga games this season and scored 5 Champions League goals.
After a disappointing performance against Poland (he scored two goals and Poland was eliminated by France in the last 16), nothing was ever the same. Lewandowski lost a bit of his energy, which is normal over the course of a season, but as it turned out, it never really came back.
After the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Lewandowski played 19 more games in La Liga and scored 10 goals, 4 of which were scored when the championship was already locked. Tensions started to build in the locker room and people were getting frustrated with themselves. But above all, it was clear that the best version of Xavi’s Barcelona didn’t exactly fit his preferred style of play.
In January 2023, Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, which is still arguably the most convincing performance of Xavi’s tenure. They defeated their Derby opponents 3-1 through tactical adjustments: sacrificing a winger in the top four midfield for another player.
Xavi believes it offers a path to follow, despite the impact it had on Lewandowski.
“I know this team needs more control and less transitions, and that’s why we changed our approach a little bit,” he said on the day Barca won the league title against local rivals Espanyol last May. .
“We feel better in possession and I prioritize those players who don’t lose possession. That’s how I understand football, it’s that type of player: the midfielder who always has the ball.”
Lewandowski took a less positive view of things.In an exclusive interview Competitor During Barca’s pre-season last summer, he described how frustrated he was by the change. He knows that losing a winger means fewer opportunities to receive the ball and cross into the box, the strongest area of his game.
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There is a situation that needs to be addressed here. From the team’s tactical perspective, they must find a more suitable candidate for their star forward. From a player perspective, he needs to regain his 2022 form.
Instead of finding a solution, things got worse.
Lewandowski has scored four goals in three games after a six-game drought (DAX Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“We don’t have the quality of Barcelona 2010, we just don’t have it. We need to give it our all. If we don’t run like animals, we won’t win the game. If we can’t stay calm, we need to be a team player. This is Barcelona and things need to change.”
After the team’s last league game in 2023, Xavi said his most critical words as Barcelona coach. They had just beaten Almeria, the bottom team in La Liga, with a score of 3-2 and were tied 1-1 at halftime.
Days later, it emerged that Lewandowski had been strongly criticized by Xavi during his half-time dressing room speech, accusing his players of a lack of intensity and aggression.
By then, coaching staff sources were already describing Lewandowski’s scoring efficiency as lower than expected. They also believe he has lost some power in individual matchups and are concerned about his deteriorating lane performance.
Comparing La Liga data from this season to last season (according to FBref.com), Lewandowski’s average ball possession loss rate (approximately 2.7) and aerial duel win rate are similar (53.6% last season; 53.6% this season). 52.8%). But his passing success rate dropped significantly.
The success rate of short passes dropped from 83.9% last season to 77.7% this season, the success rate of mid-range passes dropped from 77.1% to 71.4%, and the success rate of long-distance passes dropped from 65.2% to 55.6%. .
His expected goals (xG) numbers are looking pretty good at the moment. In the 2022-23 season, he scored 23 goals in La Liga with 24.3 goals, and this season he scored 12 goals with 14.6 goals.
However, it’s worth pointing out that his 12.1xG tally was eight goals before scoring four in Barca’s last three league games, and has only scored three goals in the competition since September (two of those due to injury) absent).
Lewandowski has scored 17 goals and provided 6 assists in 33 games so far this season. He scored the winning goal against Celta Vigo on Saturday, his 50th goal for Barca.
This season, however, Xavi has replaced him four times when his team was tied and in need of a goal (against Real Sociedad, Las Palmas, Real Betis and Villarreal). It’s also clear that teammates have struggled to connect with him. He averaged 34.3 touches per game in the league last season. His scoring average so far this season is 26.7.
Is this entirely to blame for Lewandowski’s slightly lower numbers at this stage of his career? Probably not – Xavi clearly had an impact on changing the system as well.
But off the field, there were also some problems.
Lewandowski and Yamal in September (Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Lewandowski is known to be an honest man. If he thinks something is wrong, he will speak up. This caused some friction.
Last February, dressing room sources claimed that Lewandowski had a verbal exchange with Ansu Fati after United knocked Barcelona out of the Europa League at Old Trafford, with him criticizing Fati for being too selfish. Not united with teammates during the game. There are better options than shooting.
This season, we also saw Lewandowski complain to 16-year-old Lamine Yamar during a game against Alaves in November when the winger decided to shoot instead of cross.
But the friction did not reveal a fundamentally bad relationship and no one in the dressing room ever doubted Lewandowski’s commitment to the team. When Xavi himself told players of his decision to resign, the day after he announced the decision in his post-match press conference in January, Lewandowski expressed his gratitude for his work during a difficult moment for the club. Express appreciation. Harvey was particularly moved by this.
A few hours later, Lewandowski organized a team dinner at his home in Casteldefels, attended by all first-team players, showing that he could still count as one of the dressing room leaders. one. This is a club-sanctioned team-building event designed to help everyone focus on the season ahead.
So what’s next for Lewandowski at Barcelona?
With Barcelona needing to offload players before considering how to reshape their squad (and appoint a new manager) this summer, multiple senior sources at the club have said they would welcome a lucrative offer for him.
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But here – as with several other players Barca would ideally like to leave – the power lies with the player. The contract expires at least in 2025, and he doesn’t want to leave. He also has full confidence in his ability to overcome his recent dip in form and continue to return to his best goal-scoring form.
Lewandowski has dreamed of joining Barcelona for years and sources close to the player say they understand the atmosphere around the club can become particularly painful when things don’t go to plan.
As far as his contract is concerned, he has one more year fully guaranteed, and then can automatically trigger the fourth-year option if he plays more than 55% of Barcelona’s games during the 2024-25 season.
Nonetheless, we can expect pressure to come in the summer, with media reports suggesting just how beneficial his departure would be to the club’s finances. Lewandowski’s team are fully aware of what is happening with Frenkie de Jong in 2022, when Barca tried to force him out all summer.
But, for now, Lewandowski is exactly where he wants to be, despite the misgivings of the departing coaching staff and despite the extra tension and scrutiny that comes with his position. Nothing is more pressing for him and Barcelona than Wednesday’s trip to Naples.
(Above: DAX Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
