From Bavaria to Barça
Robert Lewandowski is now officially a professional in the service of FC Barcelona. FC Bayern and the Catalans confirmed the transfer, the Pole signed a contract with the LaLiga club until 2026. According to Barça, the transfer fee is 45 million plus 5 million euros in variable bonuses, making it Munich’s most expensive departure to date. The release clause was set at 500 million euros.
LATEST NEWS | Agreement with Bayern Munich for the transfer of Robert Lewandowski
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 19, 2022
With the medical check and his signature with the Catalans, the Munich chapter is actually over. According to President Herbert Hainer, there is “no bad blood” on the part of the Bundesliga champions. The striker himself thinks: Not everything in the exchange theater – from both sides – would have been necessary.
After his arrival at Barça, who is in the USA during the pre-season, Lewandowski emphasized, according to the AP: “Barcelona are back. I think I can help put the team back at the top of European football.”
Maybe the hard way was inevitable after “eight wonderful years” at FC Bayern. Nevertheless, Lewandowski hopes “that we can forget what has happened in the past few weeks with some distance,” as he recently told the “Bild” newspaper. “There were unnecessary things, from both sides. I know the business, I know what has been said and written. A lot was unnecessary, a lot of false rumours.”
Bayern’s record sale Lewandowski: “Maybe certain things had to happen”
Despite the contract until the end of June 2023 in Munich, Lewandowski had pushed for a move to Barcelona this summer. “My story at FC Bayern is over. It is clear to me that the transfer is the best solution for both sides,” the world footballer announced at the end of May. FC Bayern has now sold the 33-year-old to the Spaniards for an initial EUR 45 million. The Pole once again emphasized “that both sides did things that were unnecessary. But maybe certain things had to happen for the change to be possible in the end. I think both sides are happy now. Bayern gets a lot of money, I can go to Barcelona.”
After the most expensive sale in the club’s history, FCB boss Hainer also emphasized that both sides have actually made their peace with what could have caused lasting damage to their image (to the statistics). “At the end of the day we solved everything excellently for the benefit of everyone. A win-win-win situation,” said the president of the “Münchner Merkur” and the “tz”. In the history of football only two players over 30 cost more than Lewandowski with his move to Barcelona.
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CEO Oliver Kahn also seemed to easily reconcile the need for a new offensive plan with the record champions. “We know very well what we owe to Robert, but big players have left FC Bayern before and the Bayern world didn’t fall apart after that either. On the contrary, it was often even more successful.”
Bundesliga record holder Lewandowski: Bayern departure “most difficult decision”
With a thumbs up, Lewandowski proudly posed in his new club’s outfit for the first time after his move. “My goals are always high, I always want to win,” said the veteran in an interview on the club’s own channels. “We have so many good players with great quality, we can go very far. We can achieve a lot with this team this season.”
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However, a debut in the test against Inter Miami on Wednesday should be rather unlikely. “I’m enjoying being here,” said the goalscorer, who was greeted with a handshake by Barça President Joan Laporta and posed for the cameras on the beach. In the Bundesliga, the record holder for all foreign top scorers scored 312 goals in 384 games for Dortmund and Bayern. In addition, nobody scored as many Champions League goals in the Munich jersey. There were a total of 344 stalls in 375 Bayern competitive games, plus Gerd Müller’s all-time record of 41 goals this season – “Lewy” goes down in history as the best Bundesliga striker of modern times. It is clear that an early departure is not a sure-fire success. Lewandowski said: “The last few days have been very long, but now the deal is done and I can focus on a new chapter in my life, a new challenge.”
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He described the move to Barça as the next step. “I always wanted to play in LaLiga, always play for a big club,” explained Lewandowski. He was immediately convinced of the game philosophy of his new coach Xavi: “I spoke to Xavi and knew from the start that the club was on the right track with him. It was easy for me to choose Barcelona,” he said. The Bayern farewell was at the same time “the most difficult decision of my life”.
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