The level of demand at Barça is brutal. Not even leading the Pichichi table and vying for the Golden Boot can Robert Lewandowski live in peace.
He's being watched by the management and coaching staff. This is all happening despite his having Flick as his coach at Bayern, with few coaches knowing him better than he does.
The Best Scorer in Spain and Europe
In some sectors of Barcelona fandom, it's taken for granted that the Polish forward will leave Barça at the end of the season.
It doesn't matter that he's the Pichichi and has a five-goal lead over the second place, his teammate Raphinha.
It also doesn't matter that he's scored twice as many goals as Mbappé and Vinícius (16 to 8).
Not even that he's the top European scorer and leads the Golden Boot standings with 32 points. 4 more than Harry Kane and Alex Tamn and 5 more than the trending forward, Viktor Gyökeres.
He's in the spotlight. Two consecutive home games without scoring give rise to questioning the best scorer in Spain and Europe. As if other center forwards were better and scored more.
Jota Jordi: "Lewandowski is No Longer Untouchable"
But that's the way it is. Jota Jordi explained on El Chiringuito that Lewandowski has fallen into disgrace. He offered the arguments supported by the coaching staff.
He reasoned it this way:
"Lewandowski is becoming less and less untouchable. In the last five games, Flick always substituted him. And in Mallorca, he didn't even start."
"Why do they substitute him so much?" asked Josep Pedrerol.
"What I'm told is that the technical management wasn't happy with the pressure Lewandowski was applying. They always ask Lewandowski to block the rival pivot. And Barça was suffering there."
Against Leganés, the visiting goal was scored by Sergio González, free from Lewandowski's marking.
And Jota Jordi concludes: "In the defeat against Real Sociedad, he was pointed out as the cause of everyone else being unbalanced."
He Doesn't Speak with Ferran Torres or Ansu Fati
Meanwhile, El Nacional reveals that he already clashed with Xavi last season. The Catalan coach was not satisfied with his attitude toward the young players on the team. Not only did he not act as a team leader, but he also harshlycriticized his teammates' playing.
The same source indicates that he left very few friends at Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. It reports that to this day, he doesn't speak off the field with Ansu Fati or Ferran Torres.
The tension between Lewandowski and his two teammates has reportedly reached the point of asking Flick not to field them because they don't have the level for Barça.
All this creates tension in the locker room that doesn't contribute to the peace and harmony that should prevail among all its players. His relationship with Lamine Yamal is also not what one would expect between a veteran and a young player just starting out.
The goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny would be the only friend he has in the locker room. Players like Frankie De Jong, Balde, Pedri, or Koundé have reportedly given their support to Ferran and Ansu Fati.