Lewandowski promises to help Barcelona ‘return to the top’

Robert Lewandowski

Polish striker Robert Lewandowski said yesterday he was raring to go at new club Barcelona and determined to help them “return to the top and win as many titles as possible”. “I’m finally here. I’m delighted to be at Barça,” the former Bayern Munich star told Barca TV after joining his new teammates in Miami where Barcelona are starting a four-match US tour this week. “The last few days have been long, but finally an agreement has been reached. I’m ready to take on this new challenge,” continued the 33-year-old. “I’ve always wanted to play in La Liga and in the big teams, so Barca is a great opportunity for me. “I’m here to help Barca get back to the top and win as many titles as possible.” Barcelona’s last domestic title was in 2019 and their last Champions League trophy in 2015. On Saturday, Bayern Munich announced that they had reached an agreement with Barcelona for Lewandowski after two months of endless negotiations between the clubs. The two-time FIFA men’s player of the year has reportedly agreed a four-year deal worth 50mn euros ($50.4m), including five million in potential add-ons. He is the club’s fourth summer transfer after Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie from AC Milan and Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen on a free transfer, and Brazil winger Raphinha, recruited for 70 million euro from Leeds. The club has also extended the contract of French winger Ousmane Dembele, who is committed until 2024. A very generous transfer window for a club which suffered from an abysmal debt, exceeding one billion euros in the long term, a few months ago. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich have agreed a fee of 70mn euros to sign Dutch central defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus, according to reports in German media. Bild and Sport1 claimed the fee for the 22-year-old would be followed by an additional 10 million euros in bonuses. Bayern will use the proceeds from the transfer of Polish striker Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, estimated at more than 45mn euros, to help finance the transfer. “It’s true that we have had discussions. De Ligt is a very, very interesting player,” Bayern executive director Olivier Kahn told Bild at the weekend.