In his debut season with Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski concluded the campaign by clinching La Liga’s Golden Boot award on Sunday.
Despite failing to score in a 2-1 defeat against Celta Vigo, the 34-year-old striker accumulated a total of 23 goals in 34 league appearances.
Lewandowski’s impressive goal tally placed him four goals ahead of Karim Benzema from Real Madrid, who managed 19 goals in 24 games due to a season riddled with injuries.
This achievement solidifies Lewandowski’s status as a prolific goalscorer and highlights his impact in his first season at Barcelona.
Lewa also finished seven goals clear of Espanyol’s Joselu Marto.
The Polish striker also won the Pichichi award without scoring a single penalty, becoming the first player to do so since Dani Guiza in the 2007-08 season, according to MisterChip.
It is also the sixth straight season that Lewandowski has finished as the top scorer in his domestic league, having topped the standings in the Bundesliga prior to his move to Barcelona.
He ended the season with 33 goals across all competitions, including five scores in the UEFA Champions League, two in the Copa del Rey, two in the Supercopa, and one in the Europa League.
Lewandowski beats Benzema to award
As reported by Marca, Benzema had won the prize in the previous season with 27 goals, ending a five-year period of dominance by Lionel Messi.
Lewandowski has now won 11 Golden Boot awards from his career. The former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern goal-machine ended seven of his 12 seasons in Germany as the leading scorer in the Bundesliga.
He also won the UEFA Champions League’s Golden Boot prize in 2019/20 when his 15 goals and six assists fired the Bavarians to European glory. His other two Golden Boots were won early on in his career in Poland.
The first arrived in the 2007/08 campaign after Lewa netted 21 times for Znicz Pruszkow in the Polish second division. Two seasons later, he topped the scoring charts in the first division with 18 goals for Lech Poznan.
La Liga’s final Pichichi rankings
1. Robert Lewadowski: 23 goals
2. Karim Benzema: 19 goals
3. Joselu Marto: 16 goals
4. Borja Iglesias: 15 goals
5. Antoine Griezmann: 15 goals
Lewandowski wants Messi at Barcelona
Previously, Sports Brief reported that Lewandoski expressed his desire for Messi to make a fairytale return to Barcelona this summer.
The Argentine departed Barcelona in 2021 due to the club’s ailing financial situation, joining Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year contract.
A seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, Messi has now been urged to make a return to the Camp Nou after departing the French capital.