Even at 37 years old, Robert Lewandowski doesn’t seem to be slowing down. But Barcelona already appear to be planning for life without him.
The Polish striker is a true legend of the game. After a glittering 344-goal spell with Bayern Munich — that yielded eight Bundesliga titles and a Champions League among other honours — he joined Barcelona in 2022.
Since then, he’s bagged another 108 goals and won two more domestic doubles. Lewandowski has provided stability and ruthlessness in what has been a tumultuous period of transition for the Blaugrana.
But Lewandowski’s contract at Camp Nou expires next summer. And the man rumoured to replace him is none other than Bayern’s latest sensation, Harry Kane.
The two have often been, and still are, put into the top three (at worst) when discussing the best active No.9s in the game. So, can Kane truly replace Lewandowski again? How do the two compare?
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Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski compared
If we’re comparing trophies, there is no comparison. Lewandowski has claimed a massive 32 honours at club level across his career so far. Kane has managed just two, and they’ve both come in 2025.
Of course, it’s important to remember that Lewandowski has spent the majority of his career at super clubs like Bayern and Barca. And even before that, he was the tip of the spear in Jurgen Klopp’s famous Borussia Dortmund side.
By contrast, Kane came through at Tottenham Hotspur and spent the majority of his career there before leaving for Bayern in 2023. Despite reaching Carabao Cup and Champions League finals, Tottenham were never able to get over the line. Kane has also suffered heartbreak in two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final with England.
In terms of goals and assists, the picture is very different.
Lewandowski has 617 goals and 155 assists to his name in 835 club appearances, along with 88 goals and 38 assists in 163 international caps. That translates to 0.71 goals and 0.19 assists per game, and 0.90 goal involvements per match.
Kane, meanwhile, has hit 415 goals and 108 assists in 627 club games, and 78 goals and 19 assists in 112 caps for England. That’s 0.67 goals and 0.17 assists per appearance, and 0.84 goal involvements per appearance.
Once again, for most of his career, Lewandowski has been playing for much stronger teams at club level. He’s played with the likes of Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Lamine Yamal and Marco Reus, among others. So Kane’s total is particularly impressive here.
This season, Lewandowski has scored seven La Liga goals in nine games — four of which have been starts. Kane has 13 Bundesliga strikes in 10 appearances and nine starts.
What can Harry Kane offer Barcelona that is different to Robert Lewandowski?
While Lewandowski has better assist numbers than Kane on paper, it’s once again important to remember the calibre of teammates the two have played with at their clubs. You can argue that Son Heung-min is the only truly world-class forward in his prime that Kane shared the pitch with at Tottenham.
But looking back from the start of the 2017-18 campaign, when Kane broke 40 goals in a single season for the first time, the comparisons are close. The differences are striking, though.
Lewandowski is the archetypal goalscorer, scoring 237 league goals since the start of the 2017-18 season. Of those, 171 of which have come from open play, with a shooting accuracy of 45.39%. Kane has scored 210 goals, 140 of which have come from open play, with 44.39% shooting accuracy.
Kane, on the other hand, is the ultimate creative striker. He has provided 53 league assists, from 328 chances created and 93 big chances created. Lewandowski has provided 40 assists and created 259 chances, 93 of which have been big chances.
Kane is also famous for dropping between the lines to help link play and pull opposition centre-backs out of position. Meanwhile, Lewandowski has traditionally found his success by pinning those centre-backs in place and dominating them, either in physical duels, speed or clever movement.
Nowhere is the stylistic difference between these two strikers more apparent than in the number of through-balls and long passes they’ve played during this period. Kane has completing 58 through balls and 450 long passes, with Lewandowski completing just 29 and 130, respectively.
Kane’s tendency to drop deep also creates a difference in how his team can press compared to Lewandowski.
The England man often focuses his attention on the opposition No.6, stopping the supply line from the back, forcing teams to either go wide or long. Once again, Lewandowski stays high and makes life more difficult for centre-backs, closing them down quickly and probing for mistakes.
Kane has won possession 324 times in the middle third since the start of the 2017-18 league season. That number is 247 for Lewandowski. But Polish striker does come out on top for possessions won in the attacking third, at 179-160.
Verdict
On an age basis alone, this feels like the ideal switch for Barcelona, swapping a 37-year-old for a 32-year-old. There are other benefits, however.
Bringing Kane and his penchant for creativity on board could take Yamal and Raphinha’s games to whole new levels. The Englishman’s deep movement draws out the opposition and offers even more space behind for the lightning-fast wingers to run into.
He will also be able to form a triangle with Barcelona’s already-formidable midfield force, including Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and, when fit, Gavi.
He is the false nine that could bring Barcelona back to their roots, elevating a title-winning team into Champions League contenders again at long last.
And none of this is to say that Lewandowski will fade into insignificance. Quite the opposite. AC Milan are an example of the calibre of club reportedly interested in signing him next summer. Serie A, of course, is ideal for strikers losing a bit of their pace but none of their potency.