'Lewandowski makes Barcelona a world power again'
Cameron Smith
- 21 Jul 2022 16:30 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona president Joan Laporta believe the addition of Robert Lewandowski will help the Camp Nou side regain their status at the pinnacle of the footballing ladder.
The Blaugrana are six-time Champions League winners, but haven't lifted the famous trophy since 2015, and have seen their El Clasico rivals Real Madrid win the competition on three occasions since their last triumph.
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Furthermore, financial problems saw Barcelona lose Lionel Messi last summer, and they were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages during the 2021/22 season. Eventual winners of the Europa League, Eintracht Frankfurt, also knocked them out of that competition too.
However, by selling 10% of their La Liga TV rights over the next 25 years, among other levers, Barcelona have been able to finance several big-name transfers this summer.
They have sacrificed future money for an immediate cash injection and have used those extra funds to sign both Raphinha from Leeds and Lewandowski from Bayern Munich. Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen have also arrived, but on free transfers.
Furthermore, any potential business they make in the 2022 summer transfer window doesn't depend on whether Frenkie de Jong is sold to Manchester United or not.
What has Laporta said?
Signing Lewandowski was top of the agenda this summer and after weeks of talks with Bayern Munich, a deal was reached and the transfer was confirmed.
Laporta, 60, was thankful that an agreement came to fruition and a deal could be completed. According to Sport, after presenting Lewandowski, the president of Barcelona said: "We are very happy and grateful to Robert. This man has made an extraordinary effort, we are proud that you wanted to come here and play for us.
"We are trying to make a team that is more and more competitive, we are progressing well. I want to thank the whole department of football, led by Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff and the Vice-President of Sport, Rafa Yuste, for this signing, which has had a global impact.”
"We are recovering the specific weight that Barcelona had and positioning Barcelona in the world again. We will continue to build a competitive team as much as our means will allow."
