After the World Player of the Year is before the next Bundesliga record: Robert Lewandowski (33) on his future and his body.
In November, Lionel Messi accepted his seventh Ballon d’Or in a sparkling suit, and in his acceptance speech he did not forget the man he had beaten out. On the contrary, Messi had suggested that Robert Lewandowski should be presented with the award, which had not been awarded in 2020, at a later date.
Two months later, Lewandowski beat Messi for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, even though Messi, who he would have liked to give the Ballon d’Or to, had not even voted him into the top three. “This question has to go to him,” Lewandowski laughed off the question a day later, asking whether Messi had only thrown empty words into the microphone in November.
Lewandowski first thanks Gerd Müller
At the specially called press conference on Tuesday, the Pole still couldn’t stop beaming and almost looked a little embarrassed. Once again he was asked about records broken and yet to be broken, once again he thanked Gerd Müller first. “What he did,” Lewandowski said, “helps me to get better. ”
The next hurdle is still 65 Bundesliga goals away, then Lewandowski will also have matched Müller’s total of 365 goals in the German top flight. “If there’s a record to beat and I’m close, you can talk about it.” This one is still a long way off now, he said, and it wouldn’t even be possible this season.
No pledge of allegiance to FC Bayern
Perhaps after that, though? Lewandowski’s current contract at FC Bayern ends in June 2023, shortly after which he will turn 35. A pledge of allegiance to the German record champions did not cross his lips, instead Lewandowski answered the question about his future: “I have to say honestly: if you show your performance on the pitch, it doesn’t matter whether you play for team A, B or C. We are talking about the top European teams. We are talking about the top European teams. What I showed, what we showed, is among the best.”
For him, it’s about staying “calm and focused on the job “ “That comes first for me, I don’t want to think too much about other things. I’m such an experienced player, I can block out everything else and focus on my job. ”
This job of scoring goals and winning titles is one that Lewandowski – in whatever jersey – will probably be doing for a few more years. “I’m still getting to know my body,”. “I know it very well, sure, but if I see that there is still something to push, then I do it. If I get this question again in two or three years, I can probably say more. ”
Only then, Lewandowski added, will he possibly have “built up” so much that he can draw on it for the rest of his career. “But at this moment, I haven’t built up everything. “
