Robert Lewandowski reveals €50 bet with Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund

Poland striker played under the coach between 2010 and 2014

(Bongarts/Getty Images)

Robert Lewandowski has revealed a recurring bet he had with Jurgen Klopp while playing under the German at Borussia Dortmund.

The Poland striker joined Dortmund in 2010, two years after Klopp’s arrival at the club, and has now spoken to The Players’ Tribune about his early days with the Bundesliga side.

“When I arrived [at Dortmund] I could barely speak a word of German,” Lewandowski said. 

“I knew ‘danke’ – ‘thank you’. The weather was rainy and grey. And with Klopp, the intensity in training was very, very high.

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“I was desperate to make my mark, and Jurgen wanted to challenge me. So, in the first few months we made a little bet. If I scored 10 goals in a training session, he’d give me €50. If I didn’t, I’d give him €50.

“The first few weeks, I had to pay up almost every time. He was laughing. But after a few months, the tables turned. I was the one raking in the cash.

“So one day he said: ‘Stop! Okay, that’s enough, you’re ready now!”

Lewandowski, who last month was named best player in the world for 2020 at the Fifa Best ceremony, left Dortmund for Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich in 2014, one year before Klopp departed for Liverpool.

Since joining Bayern, Lewandowski has added six German league titles to the two he won with Dortmund, as well as winning three DFB Pokals and a Champions League title with ‘FC Hollywood’.