Robert Lewandowski accuses manager of "betraying" him as he refuses to play
Poland icon Robert Lewandowski claims he was "betrayed" when he lost the armband after claiming he will never play for his country whilst Michał Probierz is the head coach.
The Barcelona frontman, who is his country's record goalscorer, has been left fuming by the series of events that saw him stripped of the captaincy as he lamented the manner in which he found out. Lewandowski had copped heavy criticism in the Polish media after making himself unavailable for games against Moldova and Finland this month.
He cited "physical and mental tiredness" after a long season with his club as well as and a recent hamstring injury. Lewandowski was replaced by Piotr Zielinski as captain on Sunday, but claimed his situation had been agreed with Probierz.
The 36-year-old also questioned how certain information became public and insists he should never have been informed about the changes over the phone.
Lewandowski told SportoweFakty: "I got a surprise call from Probierz with the information that he had decided to take away the armband. I was not prepared for it at all, I was putting my children to bed. The conversation lasted a few minutes.
"I didn't even have time to tell my family what had happened, because a few moments later it appeared online. I've been wearing the armband for 11 years and playing for the national team for 17. It seemed to me that such matters should be handled differently.
"Everything was communicated over the phone. It really shouldn't be like this. The coach betrayed my trust. I've always given everything to the national team, it's always been the most important thing to me, but I'm very hurt by what happened."
The ex-Bayern Munich maintained he was not angered by Zielinski replacing him, handing his full backing to the Inter Milan star, but believes the coach didn't back him.
"It's not even about the decision regarding the armband, but the way it was communicated to me," he added. "I really don't care about the armband itself. I believe in Zieliński and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for him. I have the impression that the coach caved in to the media pressure. He broke agreements we had and that's why I'm surprised by his attitude."
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