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Robert Lewandowski is finally a Barcelona player, with the long-running saga seeing the prolific Poland international striker complete his transfer from Bayern Munich which could be worth as much as €50 million (£42m/$51m).
A modern day great spent eight memorable years in Germany, scoring 344 goals and winning 19 trophies, but he feels the time is right – at 33 years of age – to take on a new challenge.
He will be expected to maintain impressive standards at Camp Nou, with his strike rate up there with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but what number will he have on his back when leading the line for the Liga giants? GOAL takes a look…
What will Lewandowski’s shirt number be at Barcelona?
Lewandowski has officially linked up with Barca during their pre-season tour of the United States, with Xavi’s side set for meetings with Inter Miami, Real Madrid, Juventus and New York Red Bulls while in America.
Lewandowski will expect to see game time during those fixtures as he builds his way towards a competitive debut at the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
As one of the greatest scorers of all time, the experienced frontman would be expected to lead the line as a No.9.
He will, however, be requiring a favour from a new team-mate in order to make that possible, or for the man currently occupying his favoured jersey in the Blaugrana’s ranks to be involved in a transfer of his own during the summer window.
What shirt numbers are currently available at Barcelona?
As things stand, Dutch forward Memphis Depay is Barca’s No.9 with that shirt taken on in the summer of 2021 before scoring 13 goals last season.
There has been talk of the Netherlands international giving up his number to Lewandowski, while there are plenty of rumours to be found regarding a move elsewhere for the former Manchester United and Lyon star.
If No.9 does not become available, then 11 is the lowest number up for grabs following Adama Traore’s return to Wolves at the end of a short-term loan – and Lewandowski has donned that jersey before with Poland.
Clement Lenglet’s move to Tottenham on an initial season-long loan, Pedri’s shift up the standings to No.8 and the departure of Luuk de Jong have freed up numbers 15, 16 and 17.
They are the only spots currently available in a 25-man squad and decisions still need to be taken on which shirts Raphinha, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Pablo Torre will be assigned.
Robert Lewandowski shirt number history
Team | Shirt No. |
|---|---|
Bayern Munich | 9 |
Borussia Dortmund | 9 |
Borussia Dortmund | 7 |
Lech Poznan | 8 |
Znicz Pruszkow | 9 |
Lewandowski first took No.9 when bursting onto the senior scene at Znicz Pruszkow, before moving to eight at Lech Poznan and initially No.7 when securing a transfer to Borussia Dortmund in 2010.
He has also worn other numbers in the colours of his country – including 17, 13, 11 and 7 – but has not strayed away from no.9 in domestic and international squads for over a decade.