A revelation that's hard to believe. Barcelona asked Lewandowski to stop scoring so they wouldn't have to pay Bayern a bonus
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
The new biography of Robert Lewandowski, “Lewandowski. The Real One” written by Sebastian Staszewski, unveils an unexpected and scandalous episode from the striker’s time with Barcelona.
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Details: According to the book, with two rounds remaining in the 2022/23 La Liga season, Lewandowski met with club officials, including president Joan Laporta. By that point, Barcelona had already secured the league title, and the Polish striker was comfortably leading the scoring charts with 23 goals.
During this meeting, one of the executives allegedly told the forward:
“Robert, we need you to stop scoring in the last two rounds.”
The book notes that the player was stunned by such a request—no one had ever asked him for anything like that throughout his career.
The reason was a bonus clause in his agreement with Bayern. Barcelona would have had to pay €2.5 million if Lewandowski reached the 25-goal mark for the season.
In fact, Lewandowski didn’t score in either of the final two matches, despite playing the full 90 minutes in both. Nevertheless, he still claimed the Pichichi Trophy.
Reminder: Both Barcelona and Bayern are showing interest in Alex Grimaldo.