Lewandowski in stand off with Poland boss and says he will not play while he is in charge | OneFootball

Robert Lewandowski has said he will not play for the Poland national team as long as current manager Michal Probierz remains in charge.

It comes after Lewandowski was replaced as captain of the national team by Piotr Zielinski.

In a statement, the Polish FA said: “Piotr Zieliński has become the new captain of the Polish national team.

“The coach personally informed Robert Lewandowski, the entire team and the training staff about his decision.”

And Lewandowski responded by saying he will no longer play for his national side.

“Taking into account the circumstances and a loss of trust in the coach, I have decided to resign from playing for the Poland national team for as long as he remains in charge,” Lewandowski wrote on social media.

“I hope I will still have another chance to play again for the best fans in the world.”

The 36-year-old striker has scored 85 goals in 158 appearances for his country but was not a part of Poland’s latest squad, saying he needed to rest.

“Playing in the white and red colours has always been a dream come true for me, but sometimes the body gives a signal that it is necessary to take a breather for a moment,” Lewandowski wrote on social media on 2 June.

He was at Friday’s friendly win against Moldova, however, appearing on the bench alongside Probierz in what was forward Kamil Grosicki’s final game for Poland.

Lewandowski, who plays his club football for Barcelona, has played at two World Cups and four European Championships for Poland.

Poland face Finland in Helsinki on Tuesday night in another World Cup qualifier, having won both of their qualifying matches so far and sit top of their group.

Probierz has been in charge of Poland since 2023 but his side finished bottom of their group at Euro 2024 and were the first country to be knocked out of the tournament.