Barcelona icon talks Lewandowski, Rashford, Lamine, Champions League – ‘One of the best of all time’ | OneFootball

With 48 goals for England and almost 150 goals in the English first division, Gary Lineker is often regarded as one of the best strikers the country has ever produced.

Lineker was also known for his brief spell at Barcelona, where he scored 51 goals in 138 matches during his three years at the club.

Now, in a recent interview with MARCA, Lineker looked back at his time at Barça while also discussing Robert Lewandowski, Marcus Rashford and more.

Lineker on Lewandowski, Rashford and Barcelona stint

First and foremost, Lineker spoke fondly about his time at Barcelona from 1986 to 1989, even professing his love for the Catalan club.

“It was an amazing time. Barcelona is a club I hold a lot of admiration and love for. It’s something very special to me,” he said.

Talking about the current edition of Barcelona, Lineker praised Hansi Flick even though the team has seen its fair share of ups and downs this season.

“This Flick team is very good. A team that plays entertaining football that we viewers love. Their matches have lots of goals, and the games are really enjoyable.

Gary Lineker rates Hansi Flick’s Barcelona quite highly. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images for Premier League)

“They have wonderful players, especially Lamine Yamal, who has an exceptional future ahead of him. And the appeal for English fans is also that Marcus Rashford is there and delivering a fantastic level,” he said.

Lineker went on to hail Barcelona as one of the favourites to win the UEFA Champions League this season.

“The contenders are always the same names: Real Madrid, Barcelona, City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern,” he said when asked about UCL favourites.

Perhaps the highlight of the conversation saw Lineker talk about the in-form Robert Lewandowski, calling him one of the best strikers of all time.

“For me, Lewandowski is one of the best number 9s of all time. Between him and me, I would choose him.

“He knows exactly how to play in this position, and he is a natural-born goalscorer, very calm in front of goal. I love him a lot as a striker,” he said.

Finally, the English legend talked about his countryman, Marcus Rashford and his time at Barcelona so far, especially with the club having an option to buy him permanently next summer.

“Has Rashford surprised me? No, because I’ve known him well for years. He’s a young man who, if he’s happy and scoring goals, can deliver a standout level.

“And at Barcelona, he hasn’t faced any problems so far. He’s played a lot, and I see him putting in excellent performances,” he concluded.