Veteran Polish striker Robert Lewandowski has revealed that he is ready to accept a limited role at Barcelona this season as the Blaugrana look to defend their domestic crowns and achieve continental glory this season.
The 37-year-old marksman was heavily involved for Hansi Flick’s side last season as they swept away domestic competition to win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup. However, the huge number of games eventually took its toll with the ageing striker finishing that fantastic campaign on the treatment table.
As a result, he has decided to take things easier this season and will be content with featuring less frequently in a Barcelona front line that boasts other vibrant attacking talents in Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo and Marcus Rashford.
“This year I personally face my situation differently: I don’t look so much at the number of minutes I have and I will have conversations during the season,” Lewandowski told reporters while on international duty.
“I don’t think I have to play by decree either: we have a squad that allows us to rotate and that’s important. Sometimes it’s more important to focus on the quality of minutes than on quantity.”
”This season we will constantly analyse how I feel. Last season I played a lot of games and with a lot of intensity. There were times when I felt very tired, and I was injured in the final stretch of the season.
“We know that when the Champions League starts there is very little recovery time between games and it will be important to manage the wear and tear well. I think this start of the season will be just as difficult as the previous one, so we have to be prepared.
I’m aware that the intensity is very high, also because of the way we play: so we’ll all need to rest at some point. I have prepared very well this summer. I’ve had a lot of holidays, I’ve been fine-tuned and I think that will help me throughout the season.”
Lewandowski has featured just twice as a substitute for Barcelona this season following a training injury, but he will be eager to make his mark once La Liga returns after the international break.
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