While rumours about a potential transfer continue to spread across the media, Robert Lewandowski remains serene and focused on his objectives. In a recent interview given to the Spanish newspaper Club del Deportista, the Polish striker opened up about his plans for the upcoming years.
In between some photoshoots, Lewy shared his feeling of being “in the right place at the right time”. He praised the support he and the team are getting from the fans and expressed his belief that brighter days than in the last few years or awaiting his club. The Polish striker explained that he plans to go on as a professional player for “three or four more years”.
When asked about whether he would become a coach after having retired, the Pole said that it is not in his plans at this point. He emphasised how demanding such an occupation is and that it requires “100% dedication”.
“I am not thinking about what I have already won or what I have achieved so far. I can continue playing for three or four more years because I feel very good and still have the passion” – he explained.
On 30 October, the prestigious ceremony of the Ballon d’Or 2023 award took place in the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Argentina’s Lionel Messi wrote yet another line in the history of football by claiming a record Ballon d’Or. The Norwegian Erling Haaland and the Frenchman Kylian Mbappé completed the podium, while Poland’s Robert Lewandowski finished 12th this time.
It was the 9th time that Lewy was among the 23 players nominated for the award. He was supposed to win the 2020 edition (which was allegedly cancelled for epidemiological reasons) and finished 2nd in 2021, behind Messi. He also finished 4th on two occasions, in 2015 and 2022.
At 35 years of age, finishing 12th in such a ranking remains a huge success. Although RL9 is slowly approaching the end of his career, he remains by far the main asset of the Polish national team and a key element of FC Barcelona’s attack. In the 2022/2023 season, Lewandowski finished as the top scorer in La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. In May 2021, “Lewangoalski” did the – seemingly – impossible by breaking Gerd Müller’s record of goals scored in the German league. The Pole found the net 41 times in only 29 games!
Besides Messi and Ronaldo, the Polish sniper is the only active player who has scored more than 600 professional goals in his career. He has scored 82 times in 146 international appearances with Poland, making him the country’s all-time top scorer. Besides chasing the symbolic threshold of 100 international goals, he will also do what he can to qualify Poland for the Euro 2024 during the play-offs of the upcoming spring.
After a catastrophic qualification campaign, the White and Reds will need to defeat two teams to make it to the prestigious tournament. On 21 March 2024, Poland will face Estonia. Soon after that – in the case of victory – the Polish team would face either Wales or Finland.
This year, Lewandowski is dreaming about winning La Liga with the Blaugranas. As of mid-season, the Catalans are well part of the race for the title with only 4 points less than the current leader, Real Madrid. Lewy is also the second-most decisive player in Spain so far, with seven goals and three assists.
Contrary to last year, Lewy and the Blaugranas will be playing in the final stage of the Champions League. The latter is another stage in which Lewandowski is writing history. As of December 2023, the Pole is the third-best scorer in the history of this competition with 92 goals.
Image: X (@FCBarcelona_es)
Author: Sébastien Meuwissen
