Barcelona CONFIRM they have agreed to sign Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich for £42.5m, with the German giants thanking the Poland striker for eight years of service as he prepares for his medical
- Robert Lewandowski is set to leave Bayern Munich this summer
- Barcelona have long been favorites to sign him and have now agreed a deal
- The forward leaves the German club having scored 344 goals in 375 games
- Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn said the team will bounce back after Lewandowski’s departure
By Simon Jones and Ollie Allen for Mailonline
Posted: 17:25, July 16, 2022 | Updated: 19:43, July 16, 2022
Robert Lewandowski will undergo a medical in Miami on Sunday before signing a three-year contract with Barcelona.
The 33-year-old bid farewell to his team-mates at Bayern Munich on Saturday after the Bundesliga champions agreed in principle to sell their prolific striker for £42.5m.
Lewandowski, who had a year left on his contract, told Bayern he wanted to leave last month.
Barcelona have confirmed they have agreed a deal in principle to sign Robert Lewandowski
It’s been something of a saga this summer, but Barca confirmed a deal on Saturday
Bayern president Herbert Hainer confirmed: “We have reached a verbal agreement with Barcelona.
Robert is an amazing player and he won everything with us. We are incredibly grateful to him.
“We have agreed to release Robert Lewandowski,” Bayern chief executive Oliver Kahn added.
“We have a verbal agreement with FC Barcelona, the contract is still pending.
“We know very well what we have to thank Robert for, but great players have also left Bayern in the past and even then Bayern’s world didn’t fall apart. On the contrary, it often continued with even greater success.’
Lewandowski, 33, scored an incredible 50 goals in 46 games for Bayern last season
The German club’s CEO Oliver Kahn says they will be able to bounce back from the forward’s departure
“I will go back and say a proper goodbye to all the staff,” Lewandowski told Sky Sports News in Germany. “I didn’t have much time to prepare for this.
“Those eight years were special and you don’t forget that. I had a great time in Munich.
“I’ll be flying out soon, but after the training camp I’ll be back, say a proper goodbye and organize a few more things.
“Today I said goodbye to the boys on the field. I wasn’t worried about getting injured in training. Something might happen to me at home. I wanted to keep fit and was training with the boys again.”
He was hugging and saying goodbye to his teammates after Barcelona made the breakthrough
The Poland international won the Bundesliga title in all eight of his seasons at Bayern Munich
Lewandowski joined Bayern on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund in 2014 and has scored 344 times in 374 games for the club, making him their second all-time top scorer behind Gerd Muller.
The 33-year-old has one of the best goal-scoring records of any striker in Europe, scoring an incredible 50 goals in 46 appearances last season.
He was in line for the Ballon d’Or in the 2019-20 campaign after scoring 55 goals in 47 games, but was unlucky to have the ceremony canceled amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The following season he shot another 48, but was beaten to the award by Lionel Messi.
He won the Bundesliga title in every season and also won the Champions League in 2020.
Barca boss Xavi has been chasing Lewandowski for most of the summer but now has his man
The Poland international will be reunited with former Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the Nou Camp. The pair scored 44 goals between them in the 2013-14 season.
Barcelona have already embarked on an impressive recruitment campaign this summer despite their financial difficulties, bringing in Andreas Christensen and Frank Kessie on free transfers.
Barcelona completed the signing of Rafinha from Leeds on Friday in a deal worth up to £55m, but agreed to an £8.5m penalty clause if they are late with payments, such is the caution surrounding their transfer business.
They have to offload a number of players to ensure their new signings can be registered under La Liga’s financial regulations.
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