Bayern confirm agreement with Barca over Lewy
Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer has said the club have a verbal agreement with Barcelona for the transfer of striker Robert Lewandowski.
Lewandowski, 33, has twice won the Golden Boot for Europe’s leading goal scorer and finished as runner-up for the 2021 Ballon d’Or. He is set to join Barca for a €45 million fee, with an additional €5 million in variables, sources told ESPN.
The Poland international is expected to join up with his new teammates on Barca’s preseason tour of the United States, which begins this week.
Hainer said: “We have come to a verbal agreement with Barcelona. It’s good to have clarity for all parties. Robert is an incredible player, and he won everything with us. We are incredibly grateful to him.”
Lewandowski will join Pablo Torre, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Raphinha as additions as Barcelona look to build a squad to compete for LaLiga and the Champions League under coach Xavi Hernandez.
– Preseason schedule: When, where, who Europe’s top clubs will play
– Explainer: How Barca are signing players amid finance woes
– LaLiga 2022-23 schedule: What the fixture list reveals
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
ESPN reported last month that Barca had made a series of bids for Lewandowski, who had a year left on his contract, but they were unable to convince Bayern until progress was finally made in talks this week.
Elsewhere, Frenkie de Jong has been included in Barcelona’s preseason tour to the States amid interest from Manchester United. Sources told ESPN that United are prepared to wait until the transfer deadline on Sept. 1 to force the deal through.
Meanwhile, Bayern have confirmed that midfielder Serge Gnabry has signed a new contract until 2026.
ESPN’s Sam Marsden, Moises Llorens, Alex Kirkland and Rob Dawson contributed to this report.