Barcelona Asked Lewandowski to Skip Goals vs Bayern Bonus

A revelation in Robert Lewandowski's new biography has shed light on an unusual request made by FC Barcelona during the 2022-23 La Liga season, when club officials asked the Polish striker to refrain from scoring goals in the final matches to avoid triggering a 2.5 million euro bonus payment to Bayern Munich.

The account, detailed in "Lewandowski. Prawdziwy" by journalist Sebastian Staszewski, describes a meeting attended by club president Joan Laporta in which executives urged the then-34-year-old forward to hold back. At that point, Barcelona had already secured the league title, and Lewandowski had tallied 23 goals, leading the scoring charts. A clause in his 45 million euro transfer from Bayern stipulated an additional 2.5 million euro payment if he reached 25 goals in his debut La Liga campaign. Lewandowski played the full 90 minutes in the last two fixtures—a 3-0 victory over Mallorca and a 2-1 defeat to Celta Vigo—but did not score, finishing with 23 goals. That total earned him the Pichichi Trophy as the league's top scorer, ahead of Real Madrid's Karim Benzema with 19.

The episode underscores Barcelona's severe financial constraints at the time, which continue to affect...