Barcelona asked Lewandowski not to score

According to a new book by Polish journalist Sebastian Stashevski, Barcelona may have asked Robert Lewandowski to temporarily stop scoring at the end of the 2022/23 season. The reason is that if the striker scores more than 25 goals, the club would have to pay Bayern a €2.5 million bonus (approximately $2.7 million).

After winning the La Liga title, Lewandowski was called to a meeting with the management after training, where he was unexpectedly asked to limit his goals in the final matches.

Stashevski notes that Lewandowski had never heard such a request in his professional career and was surprised. The club reportedly linked this measure to its financial situation.

As a result, the striker did not score in the last two rounds and finished the season with 23 goals. According to the book, this way Barcelona avoided paying the bonus.