Robert Lewandowski’s time in the Bundesliga is coming to an end.
On Friday evening, multiple reports confirmed the news that Bayern Munich and Barcelona have finally agreed terms on a €50 million transfer.
It’s a hugely exciting move for La Liga as a whole, as it means the division will play home to arguably the two best strikers in world football right now.
Lewandowski and Real Madrid‘s Karim Benzema fighting it out for the coveted Pichichi award? Yeah, that’s the stuff of dreams from a brand perspective.
Losing Lewandowski will be a hammer blow to the Bundesliga, though, as the Poland goal machine has been one of the league’s poster boys for many years now.
And the sheer number of goals he scored in the German top-flight since first signing for Borussia Dortmund from Lech Poznan in 2010 is quite extraordinary.
In his 384 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund and Bayern, Lewandowski made the back of the net bulge 312 times, an average of 0.85 per outing.
Those numbers are just mind-bogglingly good and only four players in history have been more prolific in one of Europe’s big five leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany or France).
Below, we’ve detailed the 20 players with the highest number of goals in one of the division’s state above, with Lewandowski now in fifth place.
The 20 players with the most goals in one of Europe’s top five leagues
20. Hughie Gallacher (England)
Games: 355
Goals: 246
19. Joe Bradford (England)
Games: 410
Goals: 248
18. Francesco Totti (Italy)
Games: 618
Goals: 250
17. Telmo Zarra (Spain)
Games: 278
Goals: 251
16. Bernard Lacombe (France)
Games: 497
Goals: 255
15. Nat Lofthouse (England)
Games: 452
Goals: 255
14. Charlie Buchan (England)
Games: 482
Goals: 257
13. David Jack (England)
Games: 476
Goals: 257
12. Klaus Fischer (Germany)
Games: 535
Goals: 268
11. Silvio Piola (Italy)
Games: 537
Goals: 274
10. Alan Shearer (England)
Games: 559
Goals: 283
9. Gordon Hodgson (England)
Games: 456
Goals: 287
8. Delio Onnis (France)
Games: 449
Goals: 299
7. Dixie Dean (England)
Games: 362
Goals: 310
6. Cristiano Ronaldo (Spain)
Games: 292
Goals: 311
5. Robert Lewandowski (Germany)
Games: 384
Goals: 312
4. Steve Bloomer (England)
Games: 536
Goals: 314
3. Jimmy Greaves (England)
Games: 516
Goals: 357
2. Gerd Muller (Germany)
Games: 427
Goals: 365
1. Lionel Messi (Spain)
Games: 520
Goals: 474
Messi is the only man to score over 400 goals in one league, which shouldn’t really surprise anyone.
However, had Ronaldo – who is now just behind Lewandowski on this list – spent more than nine years at Real Madrid, he would almost certainly have surpassed the landmark as well.
Lewandowski himself may even have achieved it if he’d chosen to remain at Bayern for the final few years of his distinguished playing career.
La Liga quiz: Can you name these 30 players from the 2000s?