{"id":24671,"date":"2026-05-16T17:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T17:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/24671\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T17:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T17:04:16","slug":"he-leaves-as-a-legend-barcelona-interim-president-pays-tribute-to-lewandowski","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/24671\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;He leaves as a legend&#8217; &#8211; Barcelona interim president pays tribute to Lewandowski"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier today, Robert Lewandowski announced that <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/official-robert-lewandowski-announces-barcelona-exit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">he will leave FC Barcelona at the end of the current season<\/a>, when his contract expires.<\/p>\n<p>The 37-year-old superstar striker will bring an end to a very successful four-year stint in Catalonia, during which he has scored 119 goals and won three La Liga titles, among other trophies.<\/p>\n<p>Bar\u00e7a were open to extending his contract by another year, albeit with a reduced salary and a secondary role in the team. However, the Poland captain has decided that it is time for a new challenge in his career.<\/p>\n<p>Rafa Yuste says goodbye<\/p>\n<p>And, Rafa Yuste, Barcelona\u2019s acting president until Joan Laporta officially assumes office, has praised Lewandowski\u2019s professionalism and legacy following the striker\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/fc-barcelona-unveil-new-signing-robert-lewandowski-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Robert Lewandowski of FC Barcelona\" class=\"wp-image-199911\"  \/>Yuste was full of praise for Lewandowksi. (Photo by Eric Alonso\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe arrived as a star and leaves as a legend. Over the past four years, he has been a huge help to the young players, quite apart from his quality and goals; he is a tremendous player, one of the best number 9s in history,\u201d Yuste said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has taught this young squad a great deal; he is a role model, thanks to his professionalism, the way he looks after himself and the way he plays football. I wish him and his family all the very best from the bottom of my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Confidence in Deco over future signings<\/p>\n<p>Asked about the future of Barcelona\u2019s attack and the club\u2019s transfer plans following Lewandowski\u2019s confirmed departure, Yuste avoided discussing specific names but expressed complete confidence in the club\u2019s sporting department, led by director Deco.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to focus on the end of LaLiga. We have a great technical director in Deco, and I am absolutely certain he will know what to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/fc-barcelona-unveil-new-head-coach-hansi-flick-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Rafa Yuste of FC Barcelona\" class=\"wp-image-199912\"  \/>Yuste confident Barcelona will return to the 1:1 rule. (Photo by Eric Alonso\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Barcelona have their <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/barcelona-make-e70m-rated-chelsea-forward-as-the-new-no-1-target-contact-players-camp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">sights set on Chelsea striker Joao Pedro as the No. 1 target<\/a> to replace Lewandowski, having all but ruled out a move for their former priority, Julian Alvarez of Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n<p>However, any move would depend on the club\u2019s Financial Fair Play situation, and Yuste expressed total confidence that Bar\u00e7a will be back to La Liga\u2019s 1:1 spending rule this summer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 1:1 rule? The staff, the technical department and the finance team are doing a great job, which makes me very optimistic,\u201d he clarified.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sport.es\/es\/noticias\/barca\/rafa-yuste-lewandowski-leyenda-130296584\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">SPORT<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Earlier today, Robert Lewandowski announced that he will leave FC Barcelona at the end of the current season,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24672,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,222,223,3187,935],"class_list":["post-24671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-barcelona","tag-barcelona-news","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-rafa-yuste","tag-robert-lewandowski"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}