Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo – and Robert Lewandowski, that's it. The greatest goal scorers in my lifetime. Coming from a small town in Poland to over 600 goals, and with records only matched by arguably the two best to ever do it. But what's equally as impressive is the instant humility you feel from him when he talks through his career and life.
As the face of his sport in Poland I asked how his birth country had shaped him.
"I look back not at when I started but where. My journey was difficult. It makes me even more proud that people see me and know they too can achieve big things. I didn't have a role model in my country when I was a kid. But, you know, I was always dreaming that I could achieve something big".
When you first fall in love with football as a child, there are few better feelings than the freedom of playing with your friends. For those of us who dreamed of playing professionally, those early years are full of commitment and long journeys.
"Sometimes if my parents couldn't take me, I would take the bus two hours one way to training and two hours back. With all my extra school clothes in my bag it was more weight to carry but I saw it as extra training, so I didn't mind".
"My mum would shout across the field that I had to be home, but I would always be late and have the football under the table with me".
Throughout the conversation, there's a constant acknowledgement of family and the importance of perspective when it comes to dealing with life as an elite professional. On losing his father and being released from his club, all within a year, he says:
"I got into the car with my mum, very sad as they said they said they wouldn't renew my contract. It was in that moment when I didn't know what to do, that I thought people can be wrong and I will prove to them that they are making a mistake". I said to myself, 'Dreaming is free, so I can dream'".
It's a career that's littered with trophies, accolades, over 600 goals, back-to-back FIFA awards, and umpteen league titles. It would be easy for anyone to live on just one of these accomplishments. But perhaps what separates the best from the very best is their ability to keep motivating themselves.
I ask if he ever allowed himself to enjoy his success.
"I can stay with my memories for the rest of my life, but I try to build new memories. I try to achieve new memories".
Lewandowski's career started in 2005, pre-social media and at a time where there was minimal – if any – room for a conversation about mental health. The landscape nearly 20 years later is all together very different. I ask how he keeps himself mentally healthy, given the high-pressure environment he's in.
"I remember the world before social media without social media", Robert tells me. "For me, it's a little bit easier compared to the younger generation. Because I know, and also understand what in life is real, and what is really important. Sometimes I can step out of everything that's going on and think with a clear mind, what is important? For me and for my family, the most important thing is to stay healthy."
Perhaps the one obvious missing trophy was the infamous cancelled Ballon d'Or, that would have almost certainly been engraved with Robert Lewandowski back in 2021. I ask how time has helped his view on it.
"I believe that some things happen for a reason. I cannot sometimes explain for which reason, but it sometimes happens. Someone from up above writes this story for me. In the end, you know, I can't think about it too much. I know the value of my personality, of my football, and what I've achieved. I think if you're right with yourself – and I am – this pure feeling is more important. Sometimes, of course, I think about the Ballon d'Or. But what can I win in the end? It's happened – I don't know why, maybe in the future we'll get the answer".
For over a decade, Robert Lewandowski has established himself as one of the most prolific goal scorers in football, consistently competing with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the race for the records. While Ronaldo and Messi have dominated headlines with their extraordinary records, Lewandowski has remained understated.
His view on living in a time of goal scoring numbers that we're unlikely to see again is as humble as I had expected by this stage of the conversation:
"They are two GOATs, and when people talk about you directly behind them it's like, 'whoa'. This is something that I didn't believe could happen, because when I started playing football, they were already at the top, and I started to be very close to them. Sometimes I beat them. Sometimes they beat me as well. So, you know, the competition between me and Messi and Cristiano, it's incredible. I don't want to say that I was on the same level, but I was there behind, trying to beat them. That in itself is 'wow'".
On the topic of GOATs, we shift onto two of the managerial greats he has worked with – both with contrasting styles: Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp.
"Klopp gave me something special. He felt like someone I was at home with – like a father even. I lost my father and for years I couldn't speak with anyone about the things I was speaking with Klopp about. He started me on my road to the top. With Pep Guardiola, he was so focused on every detail in training sessions. I think every place, every player, who has had even one year with Pep Guardiola got better as players. He's an amazing coach for everyone. If you accept his mind – his way – in the end, you'll win a lot".
At 36, many people could have chosen a semi-retirement and called time on the intensity of European football. Yet Lewandowski is spearheading a rejuvenated and exciting Barcelona side bursting with La Masia graduates like Gavi, Yamal, and Pedri. These players have been watching Lewandowski score goals for years. How are they with him?
"I have to say in the beginning it was a huge challenge for me, because it's a completely new generation", he tells me. "Because I now know the language more, they're asking me what I did when I was their age, and for my experience. I feel like a teenager sometimes. It makes me very happy, and it makes me even stronger".
It's impossible to ignore the growing concern at fixture congestion and the demands being put on players and teams. Having played for nearly two decades, in a pre-VAR time where away goals meant more, I ask how he viewed football today.
"I think that football is going in a way that means the quality might go down. If you want so many games, then the quality and the performance from the players might not be that spectacular due to their busy schedule".
Football and fashion have become increasingly intrinsically linked, with the rise of collaborations between the two. Fashion for all of us is an expression of our personality, and a projection of the vibe we're feeling at the time. It's often the first part of our personality people see and make their judgement on. We get onto the freedom and individuality of fashion.
"Your clothes can make you more confident", he tells me. "If someone wants to wear a certain type of clothes, no one should judge, and if someone else is comfortable in what they wear we should always accept it".
In Barcelona teammate Jules Kounde, Robert has a contender for the footballer fashion crown. "I talk with him a lot about clothes and fashion. He is the top of the top. Not everything he wears would look good on me. But that's what's good about fashion, it's for everyone".
In the era of 'aura' and celebrating outward confidence, we shouldn't forget the understated and the thinkers. Robert Lewandowski is in a goal-scoring stratosphere beyond anyone still playing in Europe's elite league, and shows no sign of slowing down. An all-time goalscoring great, he continues to defy expectations on the pitch, and serves as a testament to the power of perseverance, humility, and commitment to the beautiful game. His journey from the fields of Poland to the grandest stages of football illustrates that greatness should not just be measured in trophies or goals, but in the values someone upholds.
