Polish footballer Robert Lewandowski has revealed that he was interested in joining Manchester United in the early stages of his career. However, his move to Old Trafford was blocked by Borussia Dortmund and their manager at the time, Jurgen Klopp.
Lewandowski began his football career in the Polish lower leagues at the age of 16, before joining top-flight club Lech Poznan in 2008. He scored 41 goals in 82 appearances across all competitions, which led to his move to Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
At Dortmund, Lewandowski was a regular in Klopp’s side that won the 2010/11 Bundesliga title. Although he wasn’t a prolific goalscorer at that time, Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United saw his enormous potential.
Lewandowski received a direct phone call from Ferguson during Dortmund’s pre-season in July 2011. He was only 22 years old at the time, and United were in need of a fresh injection upfront. However, Dortmund and Klopp blocked his move to Old Trafford.
“I remember the moment exactly,” Lewandowski has now recalled in an interview with Sport Bild.
“We had a friendly with Dortmund in preparation, I think against Bochum. I was subbed at half-time. I looked at my mobile phone in the dressing room. There was a text message with the sender +44. Ferguson had tried to call me and then sent me a message. He wanted to talk to me.
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“I was still in the dressing room, I took a shower and called him back, in a quiet corner. My English wasn’t as good as it is today. He has a strong Scottish accent. I was so focused on understanding what he meant! Alex Ferguson tried to be considerate, spoke slowly.
“I was 22-years-old, it was a special moment. I spoke to Aki Watzke and Jurgen Klopp in the camp. I wanted to go to Man United! But they said: ‘No chance, Robert. We need you. You have to stay.”
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Lewandowski’s decision to stay at Dortmund proved to be a turning point in his career, as he went on to score 30 goals in all competitions the following season while retaining the title.
He then helped the team reach the Champions League final the following year, before moving to Bayern Munich on a free transfer in 2014, where he continued to impress with an astonishing 344 goals in 375 games.
Currently playing for Barcelona, Lewandowski has shown no signs of slowing down, with 27 goals in 34 games.
Interestingly, Blackburn had a chance to sign him before Dortmund, but a volcanic ash cloud and his €4m price tag got in the way, leading to Dortmund signing him for €4.5m a few months later. Blackburn was eventually relegated in 2012 and has yet to return to the top flight.
“I think about it every time I see him play,” former Rovers manager Sam Allardyce remarked three years later.
“I think they wanted €3m or €4m, but we were particularly strapped financially at the time at Blackburn. I watched him play, but I didn’t get the chance to meet him. I think his agent said he couldn’t come over because of the ash cloud.
“There were a lot of people looking at him at that time as well, but we had the edge over everyone else because of the attraction of the Premier League. He could have used us as a stepping stone but it didn’t happen.“
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