Barcelona star responds to claims he is ‘in decline’ | OneFootball

A member of the attacking ranks at La Liga giants Barcelona has moved to knock back claims that he is finally in decline when it comes to performance.

The player in question? Robert Lewandowski.

Frontman Lewandowski is for his part fresh off something of a difficult opening to the new campaign.

After suffering an early fitness setback, the Polish international has since failed to take back his position as first-choice centre-forward in Hansi Flick’s squad.

Instead, Ferran Torres has been relied upon to spearhead Barcelona’s frontline.

With the Spanish international impressing in his role, and providing more dynamism than would be offered by Lewandowski, many, in turn, have called for the former to maintain his starter status moving forward.

As much comes with Lewandowski no longer considered the force he once was, fresh off celebrating his 37th birthday.

As alluded to above, though, one individual who sees the situation altogether differently is the former Bayern Munich man himself.

Speaking during an interview with The Times, as cited by Diario Sport, this week, Lewandowski explained:

“I feel very strong. If you look at what I’m doing in training and physical tests, on paper, I’m at a similar level to where I was before. Many people make the mistake of thinking that, at 37, I’m in decline. Even so, I know I can be at the top, and physically, I don’t see or feel like I have to catch up with the younger players. On the contrary, they have to catch up with me!”

Conor Laird – GSFN