Robert Lewandowski's Take on Lamine Yamal's Potential
Robert Lewandowski has seen Lamine Yamal at full throttle. For him, the World Cup in the United States wasn’t it.
The former Barcelona striker, now in MLS with Chicago Fire, drew a clear line between the teenager’s promise this summer and the level he once hit in Catalonia. Asked by ESPN if the world had just witnessed Yamal at his absolute peak, Lewandowski didn’t hesitate.
“Honestly, no, we didn't,” he said.
For him, the most devastating version of Yamal didn’t come last season, or in the glare of the World Cup, but “two seasons ago” at Barcelona – a period he still regards as the benchmark for the winger.
The explanation was blunt and rooted in the realities of elite football. Yamal arrived at the tournament on the back of an injury lay-off. He had not played for around eight weeks. No rhythm, no runway, and suddenly the biggest stage in the game.
“If you don't play eight weeks and you have to start playing in the World Cup,” Lewandowski pointed out, there is no time to train properly, no gradual build-up. You go straight from the treatment room into knockout pressure, from zero to full tilt in days.
Even so, the Poland captain saw enough to be convinced. Yamal, he said, still showed “really good quality,” leaning on the support structure around him as Spain’s young core carried the team deep into the tournament.
The dynamic inside that Spain squad impressed him. According to Lewandowski, the relationship between the teenager and his national team was seamless: the senior players guiding, the prodigy responding, both sides lifting each other.
“The Spain players and the team helped Lamine and Lamine also helped the whole team. I think that this cooperation was perfect,” he said.
That bond extended beyond tactics and dressing-room chemistry. Poland did not qualify for the tournament, leaving Lewandowski in an unusual role: spectator, not talisman. When the final rolled around, and Spain faced Argentina, his allegiance was clear.
He chose La Roja over Lionel Messi’s Albiceleste.
“I know a lot of players from Spain and I spent so much time in Barcelona with them, so I supported them a lot,” he explained.
The logic was simple. Shared seasons, shared flights, shared dressing rooms. Those are the ties that pull a professional’s heart one way or another.
“Of course, I know from Argentina personally only Leo, but I know that he won the last World Cup,” Lewandowski added.
Messi had already climbed that mountain. Spain’s group, younger and still climbing, felt like the story to follow. “That's why I support the Spanish national team because if you play with them, you spend a lot of time together then it's easier to support this team.”
Spain’s triumph, and Yamal’s role within it despite his imperfect preparation, left him optimistic.
“I was happy because I know they were ready to win the World Cup. They are very young and the future is in front of them.”
For Yamal, that future now loops back to Barcelona. After international duty and a brief summer pause, his next task is not another global showcase but the grind that forges form: rebuilding peak physical condition, stacking minutes, and trying to rediscover that “best version” Lewandowski remembers from two seasons ago.
Lewandowski, meanwhile, has already turned a page. The veteran forward has launched his MLS chapter with Chicago Fire, debuting against Inter Miami CF and immediately setting the bar high for himself and his new club. His message was as direct as his finishing.
“I'm ready to do this and try to help my team-mates and new club take the next step, and also to win some titles.”
One star chasing a resurgence in Barcelona. Another starting again in Chicago, still talking about trophies. The paths have split, but the standard Lewandowski set for Yamal – and for himself – hasn’t moved an inch.
