Day of farewells in La Liga — Lewandowski and Griezmann, it was an honor

Camp Nou erupted in a blaze of pure emotion driven by pride. The penultimate round of La Liga brought Barcelona a 3–1 (1–0) victory over Betis and a goal from Raphinha directly from a free kick, but the final result was overshadowed by a historic achievement generations of footballers in Spain had failed to reach (Barca became the first team in La Liga history to record all 19 home wins in a single season) and by one of the most emotional farewells in the modern era of the Catalan club. Everything on Sunday night revolved around Robert Lewandowski’s goodbye to Camp Nou. The legendary striker played his final match in front of the home crowd.

The moment that left everyone speechless came in the 83rd minute. When the fourth official raised the board showing the number nine, thunderous applause echoed through the stadium. Lewandowski walked toward the bench, and the tears streaming down his face said more than words ever could.

The entire Camp Nou rose to its feet, bowed to its goal scorer, and honored him with deafening applause for every drop of sweat and every goal scored in the blue-and-red shirt. What statistics (192 matches and 119 goals) and trophies cannot fully capture is the significance of the moment when Lewandowski chose Barcelona.

When he packed his bags in the summer of 2022 and left Bayern’s perfectly functioning machine, the football world was shocked, because Barcelona at that time was going through the darkest period of its modern history.

That is why his four years at the club are worth more than someone else’s entire decade spent during times of prosperity. He did not come to reap the rewards of others’ work — he came to plant new seeds when everyone else was turning away.

History books will write in golden letters what Lewandowski accomplished domestically. Before his arrival, Barcelona had gone through a painful drought, spending three consecutive seasons without the Spanish league title while watching their rivals from Madrid dominate. The Polish striker changed that immediately upon arriving, and his four-year stay in Catalonia will be remembered for Barca’s domestic dominance. In four seasons with the club, he lifted three La Liga trophies.

Still, in this fairy-tale story of a revived giant, one great bitter wound remains — the Champions League. It is the only trophy that eluded this generation led by the Polish goal scorer, along with two especially painful and narrow eliminations in the final stages of Europe’s elite competition. First came last season’s semifinal loss to Inter, where tiny details and a tactical battle decided the finalist. Then came the somewhat shocking quarterfinal elimination by Atlético, where the solid defense of Simeone’s side stopped Barça’s European dreams.

The holy grail of European football therefore remains an unrealized dream for Lewandowski in the blue-and-red shirt. Barcelona has been waiting for this trophy since 2015, when the famous MSN trio conquered Berlin.

With the departure of the Polish striker, one chapter closes, and the youngsters he helped raise and taught how to win must now continue the attack on Europe by themselves. Lewandowski leaves as a champion, leaving behind a machine ready to restore Barcelona’s long-lost European glory — but that final and hardest step Barça will have to take without him.

Earlier in the day, another legend of Spanish football said goodbye to his fans and his stadium. Saturday at the Metropolitano and the Atletico–Girona match (1–0) became a testimony to love. When Antoine Griezmann stepped onto the pitch of the stadium that had been his kingdom for years for the last time, thunderous and painful applause rang through the arena.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery once wrote in his immortal book that appearances often deceive people and that one can only truly see with the heart. Atletico fans and their Little Prince learned long ago to see with the heart.

That bond was not always perfect — it had its thorns and difficult moments (his move to Barcelona) — but what was created in Madrid over an entire decade became unbreakable. The time Griezmann devoted to his red-and-white rose — every drop of sweat, every tear after defeats, and every wild scream of joy after goals — made that rose the most precious in the world.

As highlights of his magical plays flashed across the scoreboard, Griezmann could not hold back his tears. The man who always had an answer on the pitch was left speechless by the emotion pouring down from the stands.

The Metropolitano was not saying goodbye only to its best scorer or captain — it was saying goodbye to the symbol of an era, a warrior with a boyish smile who, under Diego Simeone, became a football immortal. The Little Prince is now leaving for another planet, but at the Metropolitano he leaves behind an indelible mark. When the stadium lights go out and years pass, Atletico fans will look at the pitch and know — their prince once danced there, guarding the rose he tamed forever with his heart.

Griezmann said farewell on the pitch with an assist for Ademola Lookman’s winning goal in the 21st minute. He left as the club’s all-time top scorer with 212 goals in exactly 500 matches played. Altogether, Griezmann spent exactly 10 years at Atletico — from 2014 to 2019 and from 2021 to 2026 — while spending two seasons at Barcelona in between. In the end, he delivered an emotional farewell statement:

“Now comes the moment when everything becomes difficult for me. First of all, thank you all for staying. This is incredible. Secondly, and something very important to me — I know most of you have already forgiven me, but I also know some still have not, and I want to apologize once again for going to Barcelona. Back then I made many mistakes, and I was not aware of the love I had here. I was young and I did not understand the situation properly. I made a mistake then, but I reflected on everything and did everything I could to come back and once again enjoy all of this.”

LA LIGA - MATCHDAY 37

Sunday

Athletic Bilbao - Celta 1-1 (0-1)

/Williams 52 - Swedberg 4/

Atletico Madrid - Girona 1-0 (1-0)

/Lookman 21/

Elche - Getafe 1-0 (1-0)

/Chust 19/

Levante - Mallorca 2-0 (1-0)

/Espi 32, Arriaga 87/

Osasuna - Espanyol 1-2 (0-1)

/Munoz 49 - Garcia 53, Romero 27/

Oviedo - Alaves 0-1 (0-1)

/Martinez 17/

Rayo Vallecano - Villarreal 2-0 (1-0)

/Camello 28, Alemao 47/

Sevilla - Real Madrid 0-1 (0-1)

/Vinicius Jr 15/

Sociedad - Valencia 3-4 (1-1)

/Munoz 3, Tarrega 60 og, Oskarsson 63 - Guerra 8,90+3, Duro 22, Rodriguez 89/

Barcelona - Betis 3-1 (1-0)

/Raphinha 28,62, Cancelo 74 - Isco 69 pen/