Lewandowski: 'Barca once asked me not to score because they ran out of money'

Lewandowski confirmed that Barcelona once requested him to limit his goals to avoid triggering a clause that would require extra payment to Bayern Munich.

Barcelona has always taken pride in having a world-class striker like Robert Lewandowski. Since arriving at Camp Nou, the Polish forward has scored 109 goals in 165 matches, playing a crucial role in helping the team through many difficult times.

However, behind those impressive numbers lies a rare and strange story in top-level football, when Barca actually asked him to… stop scoring temporarily.

The incident happened before the last two rounds of La Liga 2022-2023, when Lewandowski had 23 goals. Just reaching 25 goals, Barcelona would have to pay an additional 2.5 million Euros to Bayern Munich according to the contract clause. What should have been a proud milestone for a striker became a "boundary" that the Catalan club did not want to cross, because at that time Barca was trying to save every cent to manage a financial crisis.

In an interview with journalist Bogdan Rymanowski, Lewandowski confirmed this incredible request was true and shared his feelings. He said: “There are things I don’t want to talk about too much… In short, it was a bonus, and everyone knew Barcelona had to save every Euro. I had no problem, but it stayed in my mind, making me wonder if I should score or not.”

Lewandowski admitted that there were moments when he was torn between his personal feelings and his responsibility to the team. On the pitch, he had to think twice every time he had a chance to shoot, a very strange feeling for a striker who always craves goals.

Although he did not blame Barca, the story Lewandowski told clearly revealed the extent of difficulties the Camp Nou club once faced. When a big club has to consider every goal from its top star just to avoid paying an extra 2.5 million Euros, fans gain a deeper understanding of how severe Barca’s financial hardships were.

Although the situation has somewhat improved now, the “stop scoring” request remains a very unique chapter in Barcelona’s modern history.