Barcelona and Bayern Munich have struck a deal for the transfer of Robert Lewandowski in one of the biggest moves of the window so far.
Lewandowski scored 50 goals in all competitions last season but announced at the end of the campaign that he wished to leave Bayern and would not sign a new contract with the Bundesliga champions.
With Bayern facing the prospect of keeping hold of an unhappy player and then losing the Poland captain on a free transfer next year, they decided to cash in and fulfill Lewandowski’s wish to join Barca.
Lewandowski returned to Munich for pre-season training on July 12, but all parties are said to have wanted the deal completed before Bayern’s tour of the United States.
The Catalan club have been hampered by financial difficulties but managed to put together an offer reportedly worth €50m, which was enough to convince Bayern to part ways with the 33-year-old.
Barcelona announced on Saturday that an agreement had been reached in principle for Lewandowski, with the completion of the deal dependent on him signing a medical.
Lewandowski joined Bayern from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer in 2014 and has gone on to become one of the world’s most prolific goalscorers.
In the 2020–21 season, Lewandowski surpassed Gerd Muller’s long-standing Bundesliga record of 41 goals in a single season, while his 43 league goals in 2021 serve as the calendar year record in Germany’s top flight.
Lewandowski’s 312 Bundesliga goals are the second most by any player in the competition’s history, behind Muller (365), as he leaves Bayern having amassed 344 goals and 57 assists in 375 appearances in all competitions.
The striker will become Barca’s fourth signing of the transfer window, joining Raphinha, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, while the Blaugrana have also tied down new signing Ousmane Dembele.
Bayern, meanwhile, brought in Sadio Mane from Liverpool earlier, essentially replacing Lewandowski, while they are expected to sign defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus.
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