'Robert Lewandowski was scared to play in England' says ex-agent

Suraj Radia

• 17 Jun 2022 15:30 BST
• 3 min read

The former agent of Robert Lewandowski believes the reason the legendary striker hasn't played in the Premier League is because he is afraid he cannot match his success in Germany.

The Bayern Munich star is set to move to Barcelona having resisted the opportunity to join Chelsea among other Premier League sides, both this summer and earlier in his career.

His former advisor Cezary Kucharski, who represented Lewandowski until 2018, claimed the Pole used to cite the weather as his main reason for avoiding England.

However, Kucharski theorised that Lewandowski was concerned over being unable to replicate his prolific goalscoring record in the Premier League.

Speaking to Sport1, he said: "I always heard Robert give a childish explanation that it rains so much in England.

"But I think the real reason was that he didn't think he could be as efficient as in Germany. Robert was really afraid of that."

Could Lewandowski have been playing in the Premier League?

Lewandowski has established himself as one of the greatest strikers in Bundesliga history, netting 312 goals in 382 games across 12 seasons, making him the second-top scorer in the competition's history.

Up until this summer, the 33-year-old has appeared reluctant to leave the German giants, having long been pursued by the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus.

However, with his contract set to expire next summer, Lewandowski has told Bayern he has no desire to continue at the club and has agreed personal terms to sign for Barcelona.

The two sides have yet to reach an agreement over a fee, prompting Chelsea to make a late approach for the forward in the hopes of signing him as a replacement for Romelu Lukaku.

But a windfall of money from selling a portion of Barcelona's merchandising company could see the Spanish side finally able to pay Bayern's rumoured €50 million asking price.

Lewandowski's priority has always been a move to Barcelona, meaning he will continue to avoid the Premier League barring a dramatic turnaround in events.

The relationship between Kucharski and his former client is strained, with Lewandowski claiming they split because he was 'more mature' than his agent.

Kucharski even sued Lewandowski in 2020 for around €9m after accusing the striker of embezzling funds from their marketing company.