Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski has addressed claims that the club asked him not to score in the final games of last season to avoid triggering an additional bonus payment to his former club, Bayern Munich.
Speaking in an interview with Bogdan Rymanovski, Lewandowski explained that the issue stemmed from a goal-related bonus clause in his contract, which would have required Barcelona to make a significant financial payment at a time when the club was under severe economic pressure.
“I have too much respect for Barcelona and for the people who work there,” Lewandowski said. “I was aware of the situation the club was in, and there were many moments where personal sacrifices had to be made for the good of the team.”
The Polish striker confirmed that the bonus was linked to the number of goals he scored and admitted it was not a small sum. However, he stressed that the payment would not have made any personal difference to him financially.
“At that time, Barcelona was looking for every single euro,” he said. “For me personally, it wouldn’t have changed anything, so I didn’t really have a problem with it.”
Lewandowski acknowledged that while there was no direct instruction to stop scoring, the situation had a psychological impact on him during matches.
“Did I listen to them? It stays in your head, even if it’s only a small percentage,” he admitted. “There was a moment when I actually hesitated — whether to score a goal or not.”
He added that at the elite level of football, even the slightest hesitation can be decisive.
“At the highest level, those three or five per cent make the difference between scoring and not scoring,” Lewandowski concluded.
