Will Lewandowski stay at Barça? His renewal becomes complicated

Robert Lewandowski could be living his last months as a player of Fútbol Club Barcelona. In the offices of the Camp Nou it seems that they are not in favor of renewing the contract of the Polish striker.

The '9' ends his contract next summer, so the 2025-26 season could be the last in which he wears the Blaugrana. In addition, the club is already working on finding a guaranteed replacement to lead the attack in the immediate future.

Barça closes cycle with Lewandowski

Arriving in the summer of 2022 from Bayern Munich, Lewandowski became the offensive reference of Barça in his first two seasons. However, the passage of time and the new sports plan have led the technical direction to opt not to execute the contract extension clause beyond 2026.

General summary: Key figures of Lewandowski at Barça

Lewandowski: 105 matches in LaLiga with FC Barcelona

Lewandowski's overall statistics reflect his continuity as a 'killer' in the area. Here are the most outstanding numbers of the '9' of Barcelona:

1. Matches played in Barcelona: [151]
2. Total goals in Barcelona: [101]
3. Assists in Barcelona: [20]
4. Goal average per match: [0.66]

Thus, the Pole will put an end to a stage that, for the moment, accumulates more than 100 official goals with the Barcelona shirt and several national titles. The news comes in a delicate context for the striker, who is going through his worst scoring start as a Blaugrana.

After missing the first matchday due to physical discomfort, he has barely played minutes against Levante and Rayo Vallecano, without being able to release his scoring account. A situation that contrasts with previous seasons, where he signed devastating starts.

Lewandowski's worst record: a goalless start

Last season, Lewandowski scored three goals in the first three matchdays, including a double in Mestalla against Valencia. In his first year, his average was also a record: 13 goals in the first 15 matchdays (0.86 per match).

Comparison with previous seasons:

This year, however, he has not yet scored in LaLiga or with the Polish national team, which shows an unprecedented start to his recent career. The contrast with his competitors for the pichichi trophy is evident: Kylian Mbappé already has three goals with Real Madrid, tied with Buchanan (Villarreal) and Liso (Getafe). At Barça, the top scorers are Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal, with two goals each.

Ferran Torres, Flick's bet

The 'Shark' is back! Ferran Torres brace against FC Seoul

Coach Hansi Flick has chosen to give continuity to Ferran Torres as a center forward at the start of this season, relegating Lewandowski to a more secondary role. The Polish striker himself has taken this situation with naturalness, assuring that this season the quality of his minutes will prevail over the quantity.

“This year I am not so focused on the amount of minutes I have. We have a squad that allows rotations and that is important. Sometimes it is more relevant to focus on quality than on quantity”, he said from the concentration of Poland. The ‘9’ also acknowledged that he will evaluate together with the technical staff how he feels physically each week to adjust his participation.

The precedent: the rejected Arab super offer

The future of Lewandowski could have been brought forward this summer, when he rejected an stratospheric offer of 100 million euros per year from Saudi Arabia. According to his agent, Pini Zahavi, the interested clubs were Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, who sought to convince him through an investment fund.

The striker preferred to remain faithful to Barça, although he was already aware that his role would change radically. “Saudi clubs are saturated with foreigners and that limits the real possibilities beyond the economic part”, Zahavi explained a few weeks ago. With this decision, Lewandowski prioritized finishing his contract at the Camp Nou before assessing new horizons.

Lewandowski leaves an impressive scoring legacy at Barça

Beyond his current drought, Lewandowski's numbers at Barça remain outstanding. Last season he closed with 42 goals in 47 starts, ratifying his scoring instinct despite his 37 years. His contribution was decisive in achieving national titles and in consolidating the sports project.

Where does he score the most? The definitive breakdown of his goals

The performance of Lewandowski can be better analyzed by observing his contributions in each tournament that FC Barcelona has played (League, Champions League, Europa League, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup):

The club, however, understands that the time has come to plan the transition to a new offensive reference. The profile sought points to a young attacker, with projection and ability to lead the attack in the coming years.

Meanwhile, Lewandowski faces with professionalism his last season as a culé, determined to say goodbye in style. The fans, aware of his impact in just three seasons, will accompany him in a year that already has a farewell flavor.

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