Lewandowski reveals how he almost joined Manchester United

Robert Lewandowski has revealed he once agreed to join Manchester United but the move never happened.

The Polish striker, now 37, and playing for FC Barcelona, told BBC Sport that he once said “yes” to Manchester United in 2021 when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge. At the time, Lewandowski was scoring heavily for Borussia Dortmund.

“I wanted to join Manchester United to see Alex Ferguson,” he said, adding, “But Dortmund did not want to sell me. They knew if I stayed, they could earn more money later.”

While Robert missed the chance to play in Premier League, Lewandowski says he is happy with his career, which includes winning the Champions League with Bayern Munich and league titles in Germany and Spain.

Lewandowski, who has scored more then 700 career goals, is now the respected leader in the FC Barcelona team. He says players like 17-year-old Lamine Yamal inspire him.

“When I see young guys still have to catch me, I know I can have another good season,” he said, adding, “I also learn from them. I didn’t except.

Robert said he realized Yamal was special after training with him for just 50 minutes when the winger was only 15.

Lewandowski came close to winning the Ballon d’Or in 2020, but the award was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

He finished second to Lionel Messi in 2021 after a record-breaking season. “I was in the best moment of my career, I still don’t know why I didn’t win,” he said.

Lewandowski credits his former coach Jurgen Klopp, at Dortmund, for changing his football life.

“When I joined Dortmund, I was young and had lost my father at 16,” he explained. 

“I was closed and didn’t talk about my feelings. With Jurgen, I had conversations I missed with my father. That gave me freedom, and I started to play better and better,” he added.