Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Barcelona beat Elche 3-0 at home, this Saturday. This takes Lewandowski’s tally to 11 goals in eight games, and the Polish striker is fitting well into Xavi Hernandez’s plan of building out the squad around the former Bayern Munich star. 

There was much hand-wringing on part of the Bavarians as the 34-year-old sought a move to La Liga, to play for a Spanish club for the first time. However, there was a chance for Lewandowski to have been in Spain 14 years before his move to Barcelona, Tribal Football reported. 

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In 2008, Cezary Kucharski, Lewandowski’s former agent, offered the Polish player to Sporting Gijon, but the Spanish side wasn’t prepared to make a firm offer. At the time, Lewandowski was 19 and playing in the Polish third division. He ended up at Lech Poznan, before the move to Borussia Dortmund and then to Bayern Munich.

Lewandowski transferred to Barcelona for €45 million this summer. 

He’s been a trailblazer since then, only failing to find the back of the net in one La Liga game until now. Around a week back, in the fixture against Cadiz, Lewandowski scored in the 65th minute of the match. This took his tally to six goals in five La Liga games, and he set a record by becoming the fastest player in the 21st century to achieve this La Liga feat. In 2018, André Silva managed six goals in six games for Sevilla. 

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Sporting is currently in the Segunda División of the Spanish league and has a reputation for having never played below the second division. Lewandowski, meanwhile, has gained quick praise from Barcelona manager Xavi, who called him “spectacular”. The Polish striker also shared an update about his life with the Catalans, while speaking to ESPN. He said, “Well, I have to say that I’m very happy to be here, to be a part of Barcelona”.