– We didn’t expect anything, we never asked for anything and we didn’t ask for public money either. It is obvious that it is better not to have this subject at all, because we were not going to the World Cup for the money, I want to make it clear. We treat football and the national team mainly as pride – said Robert Lewandowski in an interview with Onet.pl.
The captain of the Polish national team spoke about the bonuses he received as a result Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was supposed to promise our team to leave the squad during the World Cup. As the Wp.pl portal reports, these bonuses were to range from 30 to 50 million PLN. The statement from the mouth of the Prime Minister was to be made during a dinner with the team before their departure for Qatar.
– This meeting actually lasted a few minutes before we left the hotel for the airport. It was an informal conversation. There, the prime minister made a statement, but to be honest, we footballers didn’t take it very seriously. There was never any discussion on the origin of this bonus, on its means. For us it was a bit of virtual money – explained Lewandowski.
He added: – We make money mainly from clubs and these are our earnings. Representation is not our job. We get bonuses for possible success, but only if the Polish Football Association (PZPN) earns from our successes and then a part is allocated to players. These are things that have been established for a long time, all the rules are officially known.
– If I understand correctly, the decision has already been made that there will be no bonuses from public money for footballers. And very well. I agree with this decision and may it be a lesson for all of us. For me, sport and football are a passion and a landmark in life. And that’s what I’ve built my value system on, and I’m afraid that the more sport mixes with politics and divisions, the more young people sports they turned. And the bonus scandal is more the result of this state of affairs than the cause.
Lewandowski: There was no dispute in the national team
Attacker FCBarcelona he also mentioned a potential feud with Czesław Michniewicz over the distribution of money between the team and the coaching staff. – I heard a lot of false information about it. So I want to be clear that there was no argument in the national team between us and the staff or the coach. We were asked, as a team board, to create a new percentage system to distribute this possible bonus between the players – said Lewandowski.
– We decided among ourselves that this system should also include reserve players. At the same time, we knew, as I mentioned earlier, that we were talking about virtual money and we didn’t take it too seriously. It wasn’t even written anywhere and the whole bounty distribution discussion went on for five minutes.”
– On behalf of the team, as captain, I went to see the coach to communicate our conclusions, and the coach took note of them. None of us knew if this money would be available, on what terms and from where. And we didn’t really want to think about it and talk about it during the tournament, so we quickly wanted to close this topic and focus on what is most important to us. Topic has been removed from staff. We really didn’t know if that money would be available at all, so we wanted to close this topic quickly, get it over with, and focus on the game – Lewandowski cut the topic.
Michniewicz addressed the case in a similar tone in an interview with TVP. – I insist: the subject of the “virtual” bonus has been closed as soon as possible. No amount was mentioned in the conversation between me and Robert. We talked about percentages. I say this with full conviction. The players and the captain listen to me. Robert also gave an interview in which he will say the same – he concluded Michniewicz.
