Barcelona have finally reached an agreement with Bayern Munich that will see them sign Robert Lewandowski for a reported €50 million (£42m/$50m). The prolific Poland striker has been a top target for Barca since the spring, when it first emerged that he could be looking to leave the German champions.
Bayern have stood firm with their demands for the two-time winner of the FIFA The Best award, with there still 12 months left to run on his contract at the Allianz Arena, but a deal has now been put in place that suits all parties.
Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn told Bild: “In the end, Barcelona offered a sum that selling him made absolute sense for us.
“We’ve also recently been very successful on the transfer market and signed an absolutely world-class player for the offence in Sadio Mane. So we have now reached an agreement with Barcelona. So far, however, only verbally, the contract is still pending.”
Bayern then published an update on their website about the deal with Barcelona, with Kahn saying: “We know very well what we have to thank Robert for, but great players have also left FC Bayern in the past, and even after that, Bayern’s world did not fall apart. On the contrary, it often continued with even more success.”
President Herbert Hainer said in an interview with Bayerischer Rundfunk: “It’s good for both sides that we have clarity. Robert has earned our appreciation, he has won everything with us. We are incredibly grateful to him.”
Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic told the Bayern website: “Robert Lewandowski has done great things for FC Bayern. We spoke at length with our colleagues from Barcelona and clarified the details. He said farewell this morning.
“After our trip to the USA, he’ll come back one more time and we’ll have a coffee together. We wish him every success at his new club.”
The deal to take him to Barca will see the Spanish side pay an initial €45m, with €5m due in potential add-ons.
Barca are preparing to head to America for the start of their pre-season programme, with Lewandowski set to join them there once the formalities of his move have been completed.
