Barcelona veteran superstar staring at a new reality at club amid uncertain future | OneFootball

Robert Lewandowski is a differential player and is considered one of the best centre-forwards in world football, admired across the globe.

Even though he is 37 years old, the FC Barcelona veteran remains in good physical condition and is one of the top scorers for the La Liga champions.

No longer untouchable

However, as highlighted by MARCA, this season, particularly in recent weeks, he has lost his status as an automatic starter at Barcelona. He remains indispensable, but he is no longer untouchable.

Lewandowski is accustomed to playing every match. He had an unquestioned leading role at Bayern Munich, carried on from his stint at Borussia Dortmund, and maintained it at Barcelona.

His quality and goalscoring instinct made him an irreplaceable figure in the starting XI. If he was available, he played.

However, the veteran superstar has now been left on the bench three times in a row for the first time at the club – something unprecedented for the player.

Lewandowski, in his debut season at Barça, did not miss a single La Liga game in which he was available, starting in all but one. The trend continued in 2023/24, when he featured in all 35 league matches he was fit and available for, starting 32 of them.

Last season, the veteran was an unused substitute for two matches, one of which was because he was just returning from an injury.

No longer untouchable. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

This time around, however, things have changed. Lewandowski has been left on the bench by Flick for the last three league games against Real Betis, Osasuna, and Villarreal – a scenario completely alien to the veteran striker.

In fact, Lewandowski did not play a single minute against Betis and Osasuna and only came on for 28 minutes vs Villarreal.

Workload management and uncertain future

This new situation for Lewandowski is due to the workload management applied by Flick. The veteran forward has been carrying minor issues in the hamstring and lower back areas, and the manager does not want to take risks.

In addition, this new scenario is also explained by the presence of other players in the squad capable of replacing him. Ferran Torres has occupied the No. 9 role in most matches when Lewandowski has been absent and has delivered strong performances.

Despite this, the Polish international remains a very important figure for Flick. That is precisely why he is being managed carefully and not exposed to unnecessary risk.

However, this new role also underlines that he is no longer irreplaceable and adds further uncertainty to his future at Barcelona as his contract expires in June 2026.

Deco and Flick are very satisfied with his professionalism, performances and contributions, but they prefer to remain cautious. Everything will depend on what happens between now and the end of the season.