"It will be impossible to stay at the top as long as we did," Lewandowski warns the new generation

Lewandowski warns young stars like Lamine Yamal will struggle to maintain elite performance as long as his generation due to physical fatigue from reaching the top too early.

Robert Lewandowski, now playing for Chicago Fire in MLS after leaving Barcelona, has warned the next generation of football stars that sustained excellence at the highest level will be harder to achieve than it was for his era. Speaking to The Athletic, the Polish striker cited physical fatigue rather than mental weakness as the key factor, noting that young players reach elite status earlier but face greater difficulty maintaining it over time. He specifically referenced Lamine Yamal's early emergence as an example of this trend.