A legend from Poland: Robert Lewandowski

One of the best strikers of this generation, Robert Lewandowski is still going strong at 37 years of age. He is currently playing for Catalan giants Barcelona and continues to be a key first-team player for them.

In addition, Lewandowski is also the captain of the Polish national team. With the Bialo-Czerwoni failing to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Lewandowski will not be at the flagship event, which is highly unfortunate given this would arguably have been his final appearance on the world stage.

At club level, though, Lewandowski still has an opportunity to win major silverware this season with the Blaugrana, who are leading the title race in LaLiga and still competing in the UEFA Champions League. 

Here, we take a look at Lewandowski’s footballing journey from the beginning, charting his meteoric rise through club football and the ranks of the Polish national team setup. 

Humble beginnings 

Robert Lewandowski began his footballing journey aged nine, as an unregistered player for a local Polish club, Partyzant Leszno. A few years later, he made the move to Varsovia Warsaw, where he stayed for seven years before moving to fourth-tier side Delta Warsaw. It was here that he managed to get proper first-team football and started to find his footing as a forward. 

In the 2006/07 season, Lewandowski started to show promise as a striker and ended the season as the top scorer in the Polish third division with 15 goals, helping his side Znicz Pruszków win promotion to the second tier. By now, Lewandowski had made massive strides in his development with consistent performances. The following season, he was again the top scorer, ending the season in the Polish second tier with 21 goals. 

Lewandowski started making headlines in his home country, and one of Poland’s most successful clubs, Lech Poznan, signed him in 2008, which brought him to the top tier of Polish football, the Ekstraklasa. He ended up scoring 20 goals in 48 games in his first season for Lech Poznan. The following year, Lewandowski scored 21 goals, helping his side win the 2009/10 league title. 

Lewandowski’s performances had begun attracting attention throughout Europe, and clubs from England, Italy, and Germany were starting to show interest in the talented young Pole. 

The Dortmund days

In 2010, Lewandowski signed for German club Borussia Dortmund on a four-year deal. In a bizarre what-if scenario, he would have moved to English side Blackburn Rovers, only for the massive volcanic ash clouds caused by the Eyjafjallajökull eruptions in Iceland to suspend all flights to and from the UK, which ultimately terminated the move. A move to Genoa in Italy was also on the cards, but that deal was cancelled at the last moment by the Italian club’s president, Enrico Preziosi.

As they say, someone’s loss is another one’s gain, and it was BVB who ended up having a superstar on their hands. Under the legendary manager Jürgen Klopp, Lewandowski turned into a lethal goal-scoring machine. Though Lewandowski joined Dortmund ahead of the 2010/11 season, he didn’t feature much for them leading up to the league win that season. However, he started to find regular minutes the next season following an injury to Lucas Barrios.

Lewandowski made top contributions in terms of goals to lead his side to an unprecedented domestic double, clinching the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal titles. He finished the season with 22 goals and 10 assists in the league that season. He was also the top-scorer in the DFB-Pokal with seven goals in six games, which included a hat-trick in the final against Bayern Munich. The Pole continued to impress in the 2012/13 season as well, helping BVB reach the UEFA Champions League final, which they eventually lost to Bayern.

Lewandowski had an incredible four years at Dortmund, where he not only announced himself as one of the most prolific young strikers in Europe, scoring over 100 goals for the club, but also achieved success in the form of domestic silverware.

The Bayern Munich era 

After rejecting a contract extension at Borussia Dortmund, Lewandowski decided to join their fierce rivals and the most decorated club in Germany, Bayern Munich, ahead of the 2014/15 season. 

This move proved to be pivotal in his career. Lewandowski’s eight-year stay at the Allianz Arena won him all the coveted club trophies along with prestigious individual honours, making him a household name in European and world football. Surrounded by exceptional talent, Lewandowski became one of the most lethal and feared strikers in Europe.

Lewandowski’s stint with Bayern resulted in an incredible eight consecutive Bundesliga titles, three DFB-Pokale, three DFL-Supercups, and the UEFA Champions League during the most successful season of his career in 2019/20, which saw Bayern clinch a sextuple in 2020.  

Individual honours followed, with Lewandowski winning the Best FIFA Men’s Player award (2020 and 2021), the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award (2020), the FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball (2020), the Gerd Müller Trophy (2021 and 2022), and the European Golden Shoe (2021 and 2022), among numerous other honours.

Lewandowski departed Bayern Munich after the 2021/22 season, having scored an unbelievable 344 goals in 375 appearances, becoming the second-highest all-time goal-scorer for the club, behind only the legendary Gerd Müller.

The big switch to Barcelona 

Having spent the prime of his career in Germany, Lewandowski made a big switch to Spanish giants Barcelona ahead of the 2022/23 season, stating that his partnership with Die Roten had run its course and he wanted a new challenge elsewhere.

In July 2022, Lewandowski was revealed in the famous Blaugrana colours, having signed a four-year contract for a transfer fee of €45 million (rising up to €50 million with add-ons), thus becoming the biggest departure in Bayern Munich history.

The Polish attacker again marked his first season with his new club with a major trophy, as Barça secured the LaLiga and Supercopa de España titles. Lewandowski ended up scoring over 30 goals in all competitions and won the Pichichi Trophy with 23 goals in 34 LaLiga matches.

This was indeed a reflection of true greatness, as it’s never easy for an ageing striker to challenge themselves in an unfamiliar league, play for one of the biggest teams in the world, and still perform as if nothing had changed.

Lewandowski continues to play for Barcelona and has already won two LaLiga titles (2022/23 and 2024/25), with the 2024/25 season bringing a domestic treble and a Champions League semi-final appearance. The current season could lead to a third LaLiga title, Barça comfortably leading the table at the time of writing.

Lewandowski still doesn’t cease to amaze with his anticipation, positioning in the box, and clinical finishing. He has already scored over 100 goals for Barça in the last four seasons. Amid rumours that he may leave Camp Nou in the summer, if he does depart, he would be leaving another historic club as a certified legend, not that it was ever in doubt.

Performances in national colours

Lewandowski made his national team debut in 2008, where he scored a goal on debut in a 2–0 win in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Lewandowski has made 165 appearances for Poland, scoring 89 goals and becoming his country’s top scorer. He made two World Cup appearances (2018 and 2022). He has also represented Poland in numerous UEFA European Championships (2012, 2016, 2020, 2024).

He couldn’t help his side secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Based on his emotional outburst on social media after missing out, he may be considering retirement from international football.

Legacy and impact  

Lewandowski started at a relatively unknown club back home in Poland and grew through the ranks to play for some of the most storied clubs in Europe, going on to win every major club trophy there is to win and become one of the best players of his generation.

While it’s true that forwards in football earn the majority of accolades and attention, the expectations from them are higher as well, and so is the pressure of scoring goals every game. Therefore, producing consistent performances every season is very challenging, and when a player comes along and performs at the topmost level season after season, no matter the opposition or the competition, they leave behind a lasting impact and legacy on the sport.

Robert Lewandowski is certainly one of the most prolific goal-scorers of the last 15 years. It’s not just the goals and the assists, but also the impact of helping win big games in tight and difficult encounters. Those are the performances that leave a lasting impression on the minds of the fans, and Lewandowski has certainly produced big-game match-winning performances for both club and country.

There has been a lot of talk about Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo being the best players of their generation, and rightly so. However, Lewandowski has been one of the most underrated greats of his generation in comparison.

In his prime, Lewandowski had every quality required in a world-class forward — pace, power, dribbling, technique, and finishing. As he approaches the twilight of his career, we might not see the best of the Polish marksman, but he has already left an indelible impact on the game of football with his elite consistency, incredible fitness, and unrelenting mentality.

It will be heartbreaking to see him go when he does bid adieu to the game, but he will undoubtedly be remembered as a world-class player and a true legend of the sport.