The four giants Robert Lewandowski rejected this summer to join Barcelona
Suraj Radia
- 6 Jul 2022 21:05 BST
- 3 min read
Robert Lewandowski has turned down approaches from some of Europe’s top clubs in a bid to force through a move to his preferred destination of Barcelona.
The 33-year-old is entering the final year of his contract with Bayern Munich and has publicly stated his desire to leave the club, insisting he has no intention of continuing after 12 years in Germany.
Having rejected Bayern’s pleas to see out his contract, Lewandowski has further turned down offers from Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester United.
The Polish forward has admitted he has already got a house in Barcelona and started learning to speak Spanish but the Catalan side have failed to meet Bayern’s reported €50 million asking price so far.
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With the ex-Dortmund man insisting it’s Barca or nowhere, Bayern have no incentive to budge on their asking price and have been frustrated by the La Liga side’s offers.
The Bundesliga champions are reportedly insisting on receiving the full transfer fee up front due to Barcelona’s ongoing financial issues which could make them unable to pay future instalments.
Barcelona’s latest bid of €40m was instantly rejected by Bayern and the two clubs have been engaged in a public war of words due to the saga.
However, while Bayern are resigned to letting their talismanic striker leave, they are not willing to cave into Lewandowski’s demands despite his threats over not returning to pre-season training.
Bayern Munich have told FC Barcelona they don't want any installments in any deal for Robert Lewandowski and that they want all the money upfront in cash because Bayern believes that FC Barcelona won't exist in "one or two years' time". #fcblive #fcbayern [@honigstein] pic.twitter.com/MIBgrCxgpl
— Football Talk (@Football_TaIk) July 6, 2022
The transfer could be resolved by Barcelona selling Frenkie de Jong but they are reluctant to let their Dutch midfielder leave despite Manchester United being in talks to sign him for a fee in excess of €60m.
Barca are still trying to work through their ‘economic levers’ while also trying to execute big money moves for Raphinha and Jules Kounde.
Lewandowski is Barca’s primary target and it is expected a move will eventually be completed but something will need to budge in order to resolve the situation.
