What is the Lewandowski celebration? Meaning behind Barcelona star's goal gesture

Robert Lewandowski has mastered the art of goal scoring down the years, with the Poland international cementing a reputation as one of the finest and most lethal finishers to have ever played the game.

Countless records were broken during a memorable eight-year stint at Bayern Munich, while Borussia Dortmund benefited from his skill set prior to that and Barcelona bought into it when putting a €50 million (£43m/$50m) transfer in place during the summer of 2022.

The 34-year-old continues to show that age is no barrier to him, with a famous celebration still seeing plenty of air time for club and country. What does that gesture mean? GOAL takes a look…

What does Robert Lewandowski’s goal celebration mean?

Getty

For a long time, Lewandowski stayed silent when it came to an iconic celebration that sees him push two clenched fists together across his chest.

He told Bayern’s YouTube channel in 2019: “The celebration has something to do with my daughter. I don’t want to go into details, it’s a little secret!

“I want to show that my family are always behind me, as that has helped me a lot in my career as a footballer.

“There’s so much euphoria [when you score] that you just don’t think. It just happens. Sometimes I think afterwards, ‘what did I do?’ You just do whatever your heart or head tells you to do, which is what happens to me on the pitch.

“That moment when you score a goal and 80,000 fans cheer your name is a really special feeling. You get goosebumps and just want to fly. But I also know that you need to come back to reality after just a few seconds – you can’t let the euphoria show.

“It’s hard to explain what you experience in that moment. I wish everyone could enjoy that feeling at least once in their life.”

Lewandowski has since elaborated on that during an interview with Focus magazine, saying of an act that is dedicated to his daughter Klara: “My daughter used to hold hands like that when she was two years old, so I started imitating her, and it stuck.”

How many goals has Robert Lewandowski scored?

Getty Images

Lewandowski first burst onto the scene at Lech Poznan in his homeland, with two 20-goal seasons there persuading Dortmund to make a move in the summer of 2010.

A slow start was made to his time in Germany, with the target found just nine times during his debut campaign, but there was to be no stopping him once the floodgates were burst open.

The 2011-12 season delivered a 30-goal haul, with that becoming a familiar mark for the prolific Pole to hit.

He registered 103 efforts for BVB through 187 games before choosing to link up with Bayern Munich as a free agent.

Lewandowski would collect 19 trophies during his time at the Allianz Arena, including eight Bundesliga titles and a Champions League crown, while recording 344 goals through 375 appearances.

A fresh start has now been made at Barcelona, with a two-time winner of the FIFA Best Award requiring little time in which to find his feet at Camp Nou – with a Champions League hat-trick recorded against Viktoria Plzen in just his fifth outing for the Liga giants.

Alongside his stunning exploits at club level, Lewandowski – who captains his country – has also hit 76 goals while earning 132 caps for Poland.