Lewandowski deal reflects a 'new, sensible Barcelona'
Ben Jacobs
- Updated: 21 Jul 2022 12:06 BST
- 3 min read
Robert Lewandowski’s four-year contract with Barcelona is a reflection of where the club want to head economically after months of battling financial hardship – but it is a process that will take months to make an impact.
Barcelona racked up debts of over €1 billion that they have alleviated by securing bank loans and selling off portions of television revenue deep into the future. In part, this was caused by signing players on expensive long-term deals that mean they do not wish to leave the club and take a pay cut elsewhere.
The contract that they have put in place for Lewandowski, who turns 34 in August, marks a sea change in their approach, CBS reporter Ben Jacobs writes for Football transfers.
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What they’ve done with Lewandowski, which is really sensible, is looking at a three plus one deal. It’s a three-year contract and has a one-year option depending on both parties. It’s on a sliding scale of wages.
This is the new Barcelona doing things a little bit differently. They’re saying that after two years of a four-year contract, there might be some kind of opt-out, depending on how things go – Lewandowski is obviously in his mid-30s. And then if they don’t do the bail-out heading into the third year and into the optional year, the wages will slowly decrease, reflective of presumably more of a bit-part role in the team if he stays.
That’s Barcelona making sure they don’t pay up front for these large wages and then be handcuffed to players who want to stay at the club under long-term contracts. They’re trying to offset problems of the past by structuring their deals a little bit differently.
This is a long-term approach. It won’t necessarily help them today or tomorrow but it’s all within their overarching strategy of trying to drive down that mass wage bill to €400 million as soon as they possibly can.
