Following four incredible seasons, Robert Lewandowski is set to leave FC Barcelona at the end of the 2025/26 season. He received an official farewell at the Camp Nou, following a match against Real Betis, and teared up as he looked around the place that had become his second home. Although now it is hard to imagine him devoting himself to a different club, his way towards Blaugrana was anything but straightforward.
Lewandowski started his football career in Poland, playing for local teams as a teen and later joining the fourth-division Delta Warsaw. In the 2006/07 season, he played in the third division, becoming its top goal scorer and helping his team, Znicz Pruszków, earn a promotion. In 2008, he moved to Lech Poznań, finally reaching the top level of Polish football. With the club, he won the Ekstraklasa.
Lewandowski’s time in Poland came to an end in 2010. He entered the international stage after being signed by the German Borussia Dortmund. He achieved a lot over the four years he spent with the team, including two Bundesliga titles, a title of the league’s top goalscorer, and even reaching the Champions League final. His talent was hard to miss, and he quickly became a point of interest for many other clubs, one of which was Borussia’s rival, Bayern Munich. It was there that the striker moved in 2014.
Lewandowski’s career in Borussia was impressive, but his showing in Bayern was a true success. Year after year, the team won the Bundesliga, and the Polish player always played a big part in their victories. In just his second season with the team, he set an incredible league record by scoring five goals in just nine minutes during a game with Wolfsburg. Later on, he also managed other impressive feats, such as scoring a hat-trick in the Champions League, setting the record of most goals scored during a Bundesliga season, with 41 goals in the 2020/21 season. He won multiple trophies with Bayern, including a Champions League title, as well as many individual trophies, such as the European Golden Boot, or the Best FIFA Men’s Player.
Lewandowski was on top of the football world. He had won almost everything a footballer could dream of winning and had comfortably etched himself into the sport’s history. This made his 2022 move to FC Barcelona all the more surprising. Although iconic, the team was struggling in the 2021/22 season. Riddled with financial and structural problems, the team needed to step up if they wanted to stay on the level of their immediate rivals.
Along with FC Barcelona’s financial and structural issues, at 33, Lewandowski was already past his prime, and many believed he was not the best choice for the team in crisis. Despite the doubts surrounding both player and team, the move occurred and quickly proved to be an amazing decision for all involved.
Throughout the four seasons he spent playing for the Catalan team, Lewandowski scored 120 goals and made 22 assists. He played a part in Barcelona winning seven trophies: three league titles, three Spanish Supercups, and one Copa del Rey. While impressive, the statistics were only a part of what he gave to the team. As one of the few older players in one of the youngest European teams, he helped build Blaugrana’s newest generation. Many fans admitted that he was one of the club’s most influential signings, and as he announced his departure, Barcelona took to their social media to post: “Came as a star, leaves a legend”.
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Lewandowski’s story at FC Barcelona was a resounding success. The club won’t soon forget it, and he has assured the fans that Barca will always be in his heart. No matter where he ends up next, he will always have a home at Camp Nou. As he said in his goodbye speech, “Once a Culer, always a Culer”.
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