Robert Lewandowski has come out to confirm the rumors that Barça asked him to stop scoring at the end of the La Liga 2022-23 season just so that the bonus clause in his contract would not be activated.
Mid-May saw the league title claimed by Barcelona four matches before the conclusion of the tournament, allowing Xavi Hernández’s team to relax and slowly make their way to the end. In spite of that, Lewandowski made it his mission to score goals and netted one against both Real Sociedad and Real Valladolid, taking his total to 23 league goals, two ahead of the closest competitor in the race for Pichichi with two matches left.
It was later reported and published in Sebastian Staszewski’s book “Lewandowski: The Real One” that the Barcelona management had intervened and had told the striker not to score again. The motive was financial: a €2.5 million bonus clause included in his contract from Bayern Munich that would be triggered if he managed 25 league goals.
The report was initially brushed off, but now Lewandowski has stepped in to confirm it in a conversation, admitting the club’s difficult financial situation was one of the factors. He said the request did not change his mindset intentionally, but it came to his mind.
In the last two games of the season against Mallorca and Celta Vigo, Lewandowski could not find the back of the net, in which he played the full 90 minutes. Following a subtle shift in his performance from being goal-oriented to being more creative, he became part of the Barça squad that was reaping the title while under financial scrutiny.
