Robert Lewandowski has now scored 100 goals for Barcelona, but how long did it take him to reach that tally compared to Lionel Messi? We’ve crunched the numbers.
Since arriving from Bayern Munich in 2022, the Polish international has kept up his prolific streak, averaging 33 goals per season in Spain.
The 2024–25 campaign was his most prolific season for Barcelona and, while he’s set to turn 37 in August, Lewandowski still looks like he’s capable of playing at the highest level for the foreseeable future.
“At my age now, I know that soon – two, three years, I don’t know exactly – it will be done, it will be finished,” the striker told Forbes when discussing his retirement.
“I want to say, and only me, not anyone else, when the finish will be.
“When I wake up one day and feel I don’t want to go to the training session, that will be the first moment to start thinking about retiring.”
In comparison, Messi left Europe behind when he was 35 years old to join MLS outfit Inter Miami.
Aged 37, he’s still going strong in the United States and we can’t help but think that he could still do a job in Europe today.
When comparing how long it took Messi to score 100 goals for Barcelona with Lewandowski, it’s important to consider the context around both players.
These numbers include Messi’s early years at Barcelona when he was still on the periphery of the starting XI in 2004–05 and 2005-06.
While Messi was labelled as a wonderkid from the get-go, he didn’t become a prolific scorer until the 2008-09 season when he scored 38 goals across all competitions.
The Argentine wizard scored his 100th goal for Barcelona back in January 2010 during a 4-0 triumph over Sevilla. Messi scored a brace that day, which took his Barcelona tally to 101 goals in 188 appearances for the club.
By contrast, Lewandowski has reached the 100-goal landmark in fewer matches than Messi, although it goes without saying that he was already an established superstar when he joined the club in 2022.
After scoring 33 goals in his first season, it immediately became clear that the Polish forward wouldn’t have any problems scoring goals in Spain.
He’s not slowed down since then either, having averaged a goal every 115.7 minutes since joining the Spanish giants.
His current deal is valid until the summer of 2026, although he does have the option of an extra year, proving that he maintains his standards.
Here’s the full breakdown of how long it took Lewandowski to score 100 Barcelona goals compared to Messi
How long it took Lewandowski to score 100 Barcelona goals
Games: 147 ⭐
Goals: 101
Assists: 20
Goal contributions: 121
Penalties: 13 ⭐
Free-kicks: 1
Minutes per goal: 115.7 ⭐
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 132.7 ⭐
Minutes per goal or assist: 96.6
How long it took Messi to score 100 Barcelona goals
Games: 188
Goals: 101
Assists: 43 ⭐
Goal contributions: 144 ⭐
Penalties: 11
Free-kicks: 2 ⭐
Minutes per goal: 133.2
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 149.5
Minutes per goal or assist: 93.4 ⭐
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