Robert Lewandowski Getty Images November 20, 2025, 8:59 p.m

The release of a new biography of Barcelona star forward Robert Lewandowski has revealed an unusual and financially motivated episode that took place behind the scenes at the club at the end of his debut season in La Liga.

As reported by the Goal publication, referring to Sebastian Staszewski’s book “Lewandowski. Prawdziwy”, Barcelona’s leadership at the end of the 2022/23 season, when the team had already mathematically completed the championship, turned to its key attacker with an unexpected request.

“Robert, we need you to stop scoring goals in the last two games,” one senior manager told the Polish forward.

At that time, Lewandowski led the league’s scoring list with 23 goals. However, the unusual request did not have a tactical basis, but was purely financial: according to the transfer agreement with Bayern, Barcelona had to pay the German club an additional 2.5 million euros in bonuses if Lewandowski reached the mark of 25 league goals.

The Catalan club, still struggling with significant financial constraints, have decided to resort to an unorthodox method to protect their budget.

After all, Lewandowski played in both of the final matches, but never scored. He finished the season with 23 goals and still won the Pichichi, La Liga’s top scorer award, ahead of Karim Benzema.