Barça–Lewandowski: the club reportedly asked him to stop scoring to avoid a bonus payment to Bayern
According to a recently published biography, Robert Lewandowski reportedly received the astonishing instruction to stop scoring at the end of the 2022-2023 season in order to prevent FC Barcelona from having to pay a €2.5 million bonus to Bayern Munich tied to the 25-goal mark.
Xavi, entraineur du FC Barcelone @Eurosport
According to revelations published in a recent biography, FC Barcelona allegedly asked Robert Lewandowski to stop scoring at the end of the 2022-2023 season, and for a… purely financial reason. In the book Lewandowski. Prawdziwy (Lewandowski. The Real One), author Sebastian Staszewski revisits a little-known episode that occurred after the Catalans’ La Liga triumph under Xavi Hernandez. With two matchdays remaining, the Polish striker was comfortably leading the top scorers chart with 23 goals.
According to the author, Lewandowski was then summoned by club officials for a rather surprising exchange. « Robert, we need you to stop scoring in the last two matches », a member of the board allegedly told him. The aim of this request had nothing to do with sport. Indeed, reaching the 25-goal mark would have obliged Barça to pay an additional €2.5 million to Bayern Munich, under the bonuses linked to his transfer.