'Best player of all time' - Robert Lewandowski given huge billing as ex-Poland & Man Utd goalkeeper puts 'executor' Barcelona striker at same level as Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo

At 36 years of age, prolific striker Lewandowski is – much like Messi and CR7 – showing no sign of slowing down. He has hit 26 goals for Barcelona this season, taking his overall tally for the Liga giants to 85 through 122 appearances.

Lewandowski previously found the target on 344 occasions across eight memorable years at Bayern Munich – which saw him win the Bundesliga and Champions League – while he is also a goal-scoring centurion at Borussia Dortmund. His strike rate is considered to be comparable to a couple of other all-time greats.

Former Poland team-mate Kuszczak, speaking in association with Bonuskoodit.com, told GOAL when asked why the most fearsome of No.9s deserves his own GOAT status: “Robert Lewandowski, for me, if you judge the whole career, not spells of a career – look at many players, they had a great time for six or seven years and then get injured or they change club and don’t do well and have problems, or drop to a lower league somewhere to keep the same glory around them – Lewandowski is still the best player in the world of all time.

“Why am I saying that? Obviously everyone is going to argue with me about it because there are other fantastic players. It is not just because I am Polish and he is my friend. It’s the mentality. If you look at Lewandowski’s career and the amount of goals and what he achieved. He was called, a few days ago, the best player in Germany’s history. If you can achieve that, it is something special.

“With my friends we talk about Robert and the statistics, not the beauty of football – Robert is the executor, he is in the box. It doesn’t matter where he has played, he has always been the same. I am talking about difficult leagues.”

Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Kuszczak, who won 11 senior caps for his country, added on what makes Lewandowski special: “When he started playing at Poznan as a young guy, he was exactly the same. Then he moved to Germany to Borussia and he became the top scorer in Germany, he won the Golden Boot twice. Then he moved to Bayern Munich and he kept doing this – top scorer, top scorer. I don’t know how many times, 10 maybe. Then he moved to Barcelona at an age where people could question him and say ‘come on, is he going to be the same?’ And he was the same – first season, won the Golden Boot and was top scorer.

“To keep this pressure on your shoulders as a striker and to perform to score the goals for the club, all the ups and downs, and how to keep the expectations from the club and the fans, he has done it. In the last 12 years, he keeps going. Even when he gets to an age where you can say he’s getting older, at Barcelona it has been the same. There are a few games where he doesn’t score, then he scores two, three, two, three. He keeps going and this is amazing. I don’t know many players like that.

“This is for somebody who likes the statistics and compares players to players of all time, but there are not many players in the top leagues, long-term, who have performed and won so many Golden Boots, scored so many goals.

“If you look at players like goalkeepers, you can see how many saves they made and consistency. You can judge on that. If you judge a striker on how many goals he scored over the years and in different teams and leagues, you don’t get many. And we are talking top leagues and top teams which have big pressure, every game is pressure, it doesn’t matter what the game is, you have to perform and you have to score. This is what people are looking for. He has done it. For me, he is close to Messi. For me, Messi, Ronaldo and Lewandowski. If he can keep doing this for this season and next season, it will be amazing.”

Lewandowski is under contract at Barcelona through to the end of the 2025-26 campaign. He has, however, seen questions asked of his future – as he works towards another World Cup – with moves to join Messi and Ronaldo in either MLS or the Saudi Pro League being speculated on.