Robert Lewandowski is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker and captains the Poland national team. Lewandowski is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of the most successful players in Bundesliga history because of his positioning, technique, and finishing. He has scored more than 600 goals in his senior career including both goals for his club and national team.

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Lewandowski was born on August 21, 1988 and raised in Lezno. He began playing football as an unregistered player for the neighbourhood team, Partyzant Leszno. He started playing with MKS Varsovia Warsaw in 1997, where he spent seven years. The next year, he transferred to Delta Warsaw of the fourth division, where he eventually was able to play for the first squad and finished the season with four goals.

Lewandowski led all goal scorers in the Polish third division in 2006–07 with 15 goals, assisting his the club Znicz Pruszków in their promotion. With 21 goals the following year, he led all scorers in Poland’s second-division.

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Lewandowski later transferred to Lech Pozna, where he helped the team win the 2009–10 Ekstraklasa (top Polish professional league). He moved to Borussia Dortmund in 2010, where he earned accolades like two straight Bundesliga titles and the league’s top goal scorer award. He participated in the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final with Dortmund.

Lewandowski announced in November 2013 that he will sign a pre-contractual agreement with Borussia Dortmund’s rival Bayern Munich. On January 3, 2014, he signed a five-year deal that would commence at the start of the 2014–15 season. On July 9, 2014, Lewandowski was formally introduced as a member of the Bayern Munich team.

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At each of his first eight seasons in Munich, he has won the Bundesliga championship. Lewandowski played a crucial role in Bayern’s 2019–20 UEFA Champions League victory as part of a treble. Along with Johan Cruyff, he is one of just two players to win the European Triple while leading all three tournaments in goals scored, making him the first to accomplish this feat as the lone top scorer. 

The 2020 Ballon d’Or was scrapped, which drew harsh criticism from news and sports organisations who thought Lewandowski was the favourite and should have won.

In 2007, Lewandowski made his debut for Poland’s under-19 team abroad. Additionally, he would play in three friendlies for Poland’s U21 squad against England, Belarus, and Finland. On September 10, 2008, three weeks after turning 20, he made his senior national team debut against San Marino. He was a substitute and scored in a 2-0 victory on the road to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Lewandowski has amassed over 130 caps for his country, and he competed for them at the UEFA Euro 2012, Euro 2016, FIFA World Cup 2018, and Euro 2020.

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Lewandowski is Poland’s all-time leading scorer in international competition with 76 goals. He is also Europe’s third-highest scorer in men’s international competition, trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo (84) and Ferenc Puskás (84). (117). Lewandowski has also received three awards for Polish Sports Personality of the Year and a record ten awards for Polish Footballer of the Year.

On July 16, 2022, Bayern Munich’s president revealed the team and FC Barcelona had verbally agreed on the transfer of Lewandowski.