"I was aware of the situation the club was in. There were many other situations where you had to sacrifice something personally for the good of the club. In short, it was about a bonus that would have to be paid depending on the number of goals I scored. And at that time, Barcelona were looking for every single euro. The bonus wasn't a small amount. For me personally, it wouldn't have changed anything, so I didn't really have a problem with it."
"Well... it stays in your head. It stays there, even if it's just a small percentage, but it was enough that once I actually hesitated whether to score a goal or not. And at the highest level of football, that's enough. Sometimes that 5%, even 3%, can decide whether you win or whether you score."
Robert Lewandowski moved from Bayern Munich to Barcelona in July 2022 for around €45m plus add-ons after eight successful seasons at Bayern. He scored 23 LaLiga goals in 34 appearances as Barcelona won the league. Barcelona faced severe financial constraints and had to manage salary-cap rules. Lewandowski says Barcelona requested he be less prolific late in the 2022–23 season to avoid paying a goal-related bonus to Bayern. He accepted personal sacrifice, described the bonus as substantial but personally inconsequential, and said the request caused brief hesitation that can affect outcomes at the highest level. He has eight LaLiga goals this season so far.
Read at Soccer News
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