Over the past 15 years, Robert Lewandowski has scored more goals than anyone else in the Europe big five leagues. He’s also the third leading scorer in UEFA Champions League history behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. However, Lewandowski is no longer in Europe, as his contract with FC Barcelona has expired. Yesterday saw Lewy meet the media for the first time since he joined his new club, Chicago Fire FC, and he spoke about how why he decided to leave Barcelona.
In doing so, he said that once he left Barca, he didn’t want to play for any other team in a UEFA-affiliated league.
“I decided that my time in Europe, especially in Barcelona, was over, because I didn’t want to stay in Europe,” Poland’s all-time leading scorer told the assembled media in Chicago on Tuesday.
“I didn’t want to play for Barcelona anymore, and a different club. On one side, that was a difficult decision for me, for my family, to move outside Europe. But on the other side, we knew that we wanted to stay in a different club in Europe because that’s what we did in Barcelona, and I couldn’t imagine myself in a different club besides Barcelona.
“So that’s why we knew that the next step would be outside of Europe.”
The most famous Polish athlete alive has now moved to the city with the highest concentration of Poles, outside of Poland.
“And of course, it’s not easy to move from Europe to the USA,” Lewandowski continued.
“But on the other side, we are very excited, it’s like our lives are changing, it’s a new experience. I hope that for me, for my family, that will be a new chapter, a nice, beautiful chapter in our life, and we will enjoy it a lot.”
Lewandowski is obviously a Bayern Munich legend among legends. He went on to say that he consulted two other FC Bayern club legends, who also moved to Major League Soccer. One of them, even played for the Fire.
“I spoke with Bastian [Schweinsteiger] and Thomas [Müeller] about how it’s going and how they see the league and they see the difference,” Lewandowski continued.
“And everyone, when I started asking about not only the MLS, but also the city and how they looked at the Club, they told me that it’s amazing and also for life, not only as a Club or the training, but also for the family, which is amazing.
“Of course, I’m very interested in how it’s going to be in the wintertime. But they also told me that even though it’s a little bit colder, it’s very nice and that the kids love it at this time. Everyone is talking about the weather, because after Barcelona, it’s not easy.
“But I’m from Poland, so I don’t forget how the weather is in Poland. So I hope it will be fine.
“When I came here a couple of weeks ago, I was impressed by how it looks, not only the capacity of the Club, but also the city and the people. I know that there are a lot of Polish people living in Chicago.
“It’s a lot, so it means for my family and me that I can meet Polish people is also something interesting. I know that for them, it’s so important because of the connection between the USA, Chicago, and Poland is very
important. I appreciated that a lot.”
The Robert Lewandowski Chicago Fire debut will transpire when Major League Soccer returns to action tomorrow at Soldier Field (July 16). The Fire will face reigning Western Conference champion Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.