How much Blackburn Rovers nearly signed Robert Lewandowski for | OneFootball

Blackburn Rovers came agonisingly close to signing Robert Lewandowski - but for how much?

Robert Lewandowski is a generational talent who has delivered the goals in great excess for some of European football's premier clubs, but as far as Blackburn Rovers are concerned, the legendary Polish striker will always be remembered as the one that got away.

Blackburn's agonising near-miss is well-documented. Back in 2010, the then-Premier League outfit agreed a deal to bring Lewandowski from Lech Poznan in his homeland to Ewood Park.

Everything was in order, it seemed, for Lewandowski to complete the move. He was at the airport ready to fly over to the North West, though the infamous Icelandic volcanic ash cloud prevented Lewandowski from ever boarding his flight.

With Lewandowski unable to get over to Blackburn and officially complete the transfer, he ultimately stayed put in Poland before joining Borussia Dortmund months later in the summer of 2010. The rest, as they say, is history.

Blackburn were relegated from the Premier League two years later while Lewandowski took his game to another level in Germany and transformed into a bonafide kingpin of the continental game. It all could've played out so differently, and Allardyce - and all connected with Blackburn, for that matter, may always harbour a degree of frustration at their own misfortune.

But just how much were Blackburn poised to pay for Lewandowski's services? Football League World takes a look.

Blackburn Rovers nearly signed Robert Lewandowski for £6-7 million

Remarkably, Blackburn were set to acquire Lewandowski for a bargain fee between £6 million and £7 million. That's according to Allardyce, who never quite lived down the infamous near-miss.

Lewandowski, of course, became one of the very best strikers in world football and later joined Barcelona from Bayern Munich for £42.5 million in July 2022.

The 158-cap Poland international may not have replicated his exploits at Dortmund with Blackburn, but the bargain sum they had lined up must have only further amplified the frustration.

Allardyce is quoted as saying: "There was Robert Lewandowski when I was at Blackburn Rovers. It was just £6m-£7m as he was still at Lech Poznan in Poland.

"He got to the airport to fly over to meet with us. But if you remember the Icelandic ash cloud of 2010 - well, because of that he couldn’t get on the plane!

"That ash cloud crisis lasted for a few days and it meant that Lewandowski never arrived from Poland.

"I could have been a God bringing Lewandowski to Blackburn Rovers. He could have got us in the top half of the league with the goals he went on to get.

“He ended up signing for Borussia Dortmund instead of us."

Robert Lewandowski's Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona exploits left Blackburn with transfer regret

Lewandowski was something of an unknown quantity when Blackburn attempted to sign him, but that didn't remain the case for much longer.

After returning eight Bundesliga goals in his first season with Dortmund, Lewandowski helped them to two German top-flight titles, a DFB Pokal and a UEFA Champions League final before joining Bayern Munich in 2014.

Lewandowski, who is now starring for Barcelona at the ripe old age of 36, blew the Bundesliga away with both Dortmund and Bayern.

With 312 Bundesliga goals, the striker is the division's second-top scorer of all time behind the legendary Gerd Müller and won ten league titles overall.

Lewandowski also won three DFB Pokal titles and the Champions League with Bayern, cementing his legacy as arguably one of the best strikers of all time. He's now poised to add yet another league title to his cabinet at the end of this season with Barcelona.