Highlight
- According to reports, the transfer will cost Barcelona around 50 million euros ($50.4 million).
- The decision to make him part of Barcelona will increase the club’s chances of winning
- Lewandowski said in late May that “my story with Bayern Munich is over”.
Barcelona are set to sign Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski. The move to get a world-class scorer who could eventually help fill the void after Lionel Messi’s exit last summer would be a bold move by a club that is deeply in debt.
Bayern president Herbert Hainer said the two European clubs have reached an agreement to move Lewandowski to Camp Nou.
“We have come to an oral agreement with Barcelona. “It is good to have clarity for all parties,” Hainer said on Bayern’s official social media account. “Robert is an incredible player and he has won everything with us. We are incredibly grateful to him.”
According to reports, the transfer will cost Barcelona around 50 million euros ($50.4 million).
If the fee is confirmed, it would be a club-record sales fee for Bayern, more than the 40 million euros ($40.3 million) the German champions received from Juventus for Douglas Costa in 2018.
Lewandowski, 33, has been one of football’s most prolific scorers in the past decade. The decision to make him part of Barcelona will increase the chances for the club to rebuild a competitive team after winning nothing last season.
Lewandowski has scored 312 goals in 384 Bundesliga games for Bayern and his previous club Borussia Dortmund. He scored 35 goals in 34 matches last season and became Bundesliga’s leading scorer for the seventh time overall. On the other hand, Barcelona’s top scorers were Memphis Depay and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who each scored 13 goals in the final campaign.
Lewandowski said in late May that “my story with Bayern Munich is over” after contract extension talks with Bayern broke down. He had one more season left on the contract with Bayern.
Barcelona are currently in debt due to huge transfer fees and salaries paid by their previous president and board. In order to be signed this summer, current chairman Joan Laporta had to sell 10% of the team’s Spanish league television rights for the next 25 years in exchange for 207.5 million euros ($207.5 million).
Now, with Lewandowski joining, the club is clearly betting on winning the title again in the short term.
(Inputs from PTI)