Robert Lewandowski’s 2019/20 season was incredible as he helped Bayern Munich win a famous Bundesliga, Dfb Pokal, and Champions League treble.
The Poland international netted an incredible 55 goals in 47 games – it’s no wonder he was annoyed the Ballon d’Or was cancelled this year.
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He’s no flash in the pan either, Lewandowski has been prolific throughout his career and domestically has scored 229 goals in 273 matches for Bayern, while helping the club win five successive Bundesliga titles in the process.
Therefore there is little wonder why the 31-year-old has been dubbed the best striker in the world, and one thing is for certain is that he is not short of admirers within the game.
Lewandowski will have the opportunity to stake his claim for next year’s Ballon d’Or and he’s already got seven league goals in four games ahead of his 2020/21 Champions League bow against Atletico Madrid.
But what do the game’s best have to say about him? talkSPORT.com takes look.
Jurgen Klopp
The pair remain close to this day with Lewandowski naming Klopp as his favourite manager following a glorious spell together at Borussia Dortmund.
The Liverpool manager says he took immense pleasure in the role he played in helping the striker become one of the most formidable forces in world football.
“The biggest satisfaction you can get is when you take a player [Lewandowski] from Poland, from a small club and watch him playing today,” he said upon his appointment at Anfield in October 2015.
“The difference between that player and the player he is today is unbelievable. I’m not self-confident enough to think I have had the only role in his development, but of course I did play a big part.
“We all know the best players of today. Tomorrow we don’t know, so we can work for this. The will to improve is the most important thing for a Klopp player. Character.
“When I manage a club, each young player should smile because the chance is bigger for them than it ever was. The door is pretty wide open and I don’t care about experience. Experience is an important point, but not the most important.
“Of course if a player is on a top level already and you can hold this for two or three years, then everything is perfect. But the young guns are very interesting. That’s what I enjoy doing.”
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Pep Guardiola
The Manchester City boss has worked with some of the biggest stars in world football, including six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, as well Barcelona legends Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
But it’s a member of his playing squad from his Bayern Munich days who stands out from the rest in terms of his approach to the game.
“He is the most professional player I have ever met,” Guardiola said on Lewandowski. “In his head, he thinks about the right food, sleep and training: 24 hours a day.
“He is always there, never injured, because he focuses on these things. He always knows what is important to be in the best condition.
“But I was always very, very pleased with him, from the first moment [we met].”
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Jurgen Klinsmann
A Bundesliga and world football legend on the pitch, Klinsmann believes that no striker has made a bigger impact in football across the last decade than the Bayern Munich star.
“I mean if I look over the years there is certainly one striker that has been tremendous for the Bundesliga who played before for Dortmund, then he went to Bayern. And it’s Robert Lewandowski,” he explained.
“He is the complete striker that I often compare to – since I was myself a striker – to a phenomenon that I played against many times myself, Marco van Basten.
“At my time, Marco van Basten was the most complete forward in the world, in the late 80s and early 90s. And I think Robert Lewandowski put his stamp on the last decade like nobody else.”
Ilkay Gundogan
In the City star’s mind there is no better striker in world football than Lewandowski – who he shared three seasons with at Signal Iduna Park under Klopp from 2011 to 2014.
“It was a huge joy to play with him. He has improved again and again,” Gundogan remarked.
“Technically he was always great, now he also has that cool head. The way he scored the goals is phenomenal.
“For me he is the best and most complete striker in the world at the moment.”
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Thomas Muller
Muller and Lewandowski have enjoyed enormous success together at the Allianz Arena, with the former recently urging his teammate to prove he is the best all-round attacker in world football.
“He showed his quality again, although he does not have to prove his class to anyone,” the forward said back in 2018 amid speculation over his future.
“We have to see that he is at 100 per cent, and then he is enormously important to us. And that’s why the club are not letting him go.”
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Hansi Flick
The current Bayern boss is a huge fan of Lewandowski, who offers so much more to his side than just goals.
“Robert is absolutely world-class as a central striker,” he stated.
“He has a lot of quality, especially in the penalty area, he guarantees goals and creates them too.
Lothar Matthaus
The World Cup winner is never shy about offering his opinion and, ahead of Bayern’s Champions League clash with Barcelona, revealed he believes the player is currently the greatest on the planet.
Ahead of the 8-2 thrashing, he said: “[Lionel] Messi faces his successor as the best player in the world: Robert Lewandowski. He is the best player, not just the best forward.”
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David Alaba
Austrian teammate Alaba is another who believes Lewandowski should be held in the same regard as the duo when many feel are the greatest footballers to ever play the game.
“He is one of the best, and maybe the best, striker in the world,” Alaba said. “He scores goals in almost every game and, of course, I think he deserves to be at the top and spoken about with [Messi and Ronaldo].”
Karl-Heinz Riedle
The former Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund forward is impressed by both his technical and mental fortitude.
“His superior technique and strength means you can play him up front all on his own,” Riedle said. “He shields the ball perfectly and then brings team-mates into play. And then he is a real poacher as well. It is also noteworthy how he has dealt mentally with all the transfer rumours. He has just kept on playing and that attitude has all the hallmarks of a great player.”
Nuri Sahin
Meanwhile, ex-Liverpool, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sahin was more in awe of the Poland ace’s physique…
“Lewi has the most incredible body, it is just pure muscles. It just stuns the other players in the changing room,” he cooed.
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Jan Kirchhoff
The German centre back played alongside the Polish frontman for two years at the Allianz Arena, and says defenders have ‘no advantage’ against Lewandowski.
“Robert is fast, agile, physically and technically good, can drop and has a great finish,” the 29-year-old said.
“You simply have no advantage against him. Robert is simply complete and therefore unpredictable.”
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