Lewandowski, 37, made the move from Bayern Munich to Barcelona in 2022, ending a goal-laden eight years with the German giants.
As part of the deal to bring the Poland international to the Camp Nou, Barcelona agreed to pay €5m in variables, half of which would have been due to Bayern should Lewandowski hit 25 La Liga goals in his first season at the club.
The striker was on 23 goals with two games to go with the La Liga title already wrapped up when he was told not to score any more, according to journalist Sebastian Staszewski.
“Barcelona, in a meeting in which the president, Joan Laporta, was present, asked him to stop scoring goals,” said Staszewski via Diario AS.
“And that the reason was economic, because Barcelona had to pay Bayern a bonus of €2.5m if the Polish striker reached 25 goals. With the title already secured, Barcelona would have chosen to ask him to stop scoring.”