Robert Lewandowski, striker of Barcelona, dropped a bombshell in a recent media interview: In 2012, he personally agreed to join Manchester United and even met legendary manager Alex Ferguson, but the move ultimately fell through due to Borussia Dortmund's firm refusal to let him go. Looking back on his career, the Polish superstar frankly stated he has "no regrets" and highly praised Barcelona's 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal as an "unprecedented phenomenal player."
"I was determined to join Manchester United back then and told Ferguson my decision in person," Lewandowski recalled. In 2012, during his peak period where he was scoring goals at will for Dortmund, the plan to transfer to the Red Devils was once imminent — just two years after the "fateful joke" where volcanic ash clouds disrupted his transfer to Blackburn. However, Dortmund was well aware of the value of this "forward talisman" and firmly refused to release him: "They knew keeping me would earn more, and I was also willing to wait another year or two."
Despite missing out on the Premier League experience, Lewandowski has no complaints about the trajectory of his career: "Playing for Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and now Barcelona — every step was a choice I truly desired. I never felt like I 'missed out on anything'."
Now, as the "elder statesman" at Barcelona, the 35-year-old Lewandowski is still shining brightly, and he is full of praise for the team's prodigy Yamal. "The first time I saw him training with the first team at 15, I noticed his extraordinariness within 50 minutes," Lewandowski said with amazement in his eyes. "To perform like this at his age, I dare say it's the first time in my life I've seen such a thing." He admitted that mutual growth with young players has kept him in top form: "I don't need to chase them; it's enough for them to chase me — this feeling means there will be more achievements in the new season."
