Barcelona risk losing Robert Lewandowski to another PSG hijacking
FT Desk
- Updated: 21 Jun 2022 10:28 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona are in danger of losing Robert Lewandowski to PSG, with there being increasing confidence in Paris of completing yet another transfer hijacking.
PSG have made a habit in recent weeks of hijacking advanced transfer deals at the last minute.
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Kylian Mbappe had agreed a free transfer to Real Madrid for several months before PSG secured him a new contract with a record-breaking offer.
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Renato Sanches had agreed personal terms with Milan since January, only for PSG to gazump their offer just days before the transfer was set to be completed.
PSG also attempted to hijack Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni deal, while they famously poached Gini Wijnaldum off Barca’s hands last summer.
According to FootMercato and other sources in France, PSG are confident of now hijacking Barcelona’s deal for Lewandowski.
Will Barcelona lose Lewandowski?
Barcelona have made Lewandowski their number one target for the summer transfer window and they have been in talks to sign the former Borussia Dortmund star since March.
Lewandowski, whose contract at Bayern expires in 2023, is keen to make the move to Camp Nou as he would like one final challenge at a bit club before the end of his career.
Personal terms have already been agreed, while there have been reports in recent days that Barcelona have increased their offer to €50 million to Bayern Munich, a fee which the Germans should reluctantly accept.
However, Barcelona still do not have the cash available to complete the deal.
The Blaugrana are in a well-publicised financial crisis and are €1.3 billion in debt.
However, last week Barcelona reportedly secured €500-700m in funds after an extraordinary meeting of Socios (club members).
This was done by agreeing to sell 49% of its retail arm, Barca Licensing and Merchandising (BLM), and up to 25% of its future La Liga TV revenues.
Barca should soon be able to use this cash injection to sign new players but it is not clear yet when they will have it at their disposal.
This has allowed PSG to step in and attempt to complete the Lewandowski deal quickly.
The Parisians are able to not only match but better Barcelona’s offer.
Lewandowski would rather join Barcelona but is wary of waiting too much longer for them.
The Poland star’s agent Pini Zahavi is also reported by FootMercato to be more than open of sending his client to Paris.
PSG are set to be very active in the summer transfer window and are also in talks to sign another forward in Sassuolo’s Gianluca Scamacca.
