The rumor became a reality and, more than that, a dream for thousands of fans: Robert Lewandowski is a new player FC Barcelona. Despite arriving at the club almost 34 years old (he turns them on August 21), his transfer and salary values do not reflect that he is a player close to retirement, quite the contrary, he has a high price to which he hopes to respond with scoring quotas on the field.
The captain of the Polish national team arrived in Catalonia after a transaction valued at 40 million euros plus another five million in performance variables, according to information revealed by the international insider Fabrizio Romano. According to these figures, Lewandowski is the second player over the age of 32 with the highest transfer in history.
The only player who exceeds his figures is Cristiano Ronaldo, who was transferred from real Madrid to Juventus in 2018, when he was 33 years old, for 117 million euros, which is more than double what Barcelona is paying in 2022 for Robert Lewandowski.
Still, the Pole is well above the next on the list, which is the Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, transferred in 2016 from Barcelona to Manchester City for 18 million euros, when he was also 33 years old. It is almost half of what Lewandowski’s pass is worth, according to figures from the specialized portal, Transfermarkt.
“I wanted to play in another league, but it was the most difficult decision of my life. He wanted to live somewhere else (…) The Bayern Munich and I did unnecessary things, I think both parties are satisfied now. Bayern is going to receive a lot of money and I can go to Barcelona,” Lewandowski said in a last interview in German territory granted to the Bild newspaper.
The Polish striker played a total of eight seasons in the shirt of Bayern Munich, where he arrived with the figure tag after a successful stint of four years and 103 goals for Borussia Dortmund. Despite what he achieved, his transfer to Munich was at zero cost, as he was a free player at the time.
This time, the picture is different. After 375 games with Bayern Munich in which he scored 344 goals, that is, an average of 0.92 goals per game, the Pole joins Barca for 50 million euros, which corresponds to his current price as a footballer, which is around 45 million, although in 2018 It reached its highest point when trading at 90 million.
The high cost of Lewandowski despite his 33 years, as happened to the Juventus with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018, is due to the extensive track record of his career. The striker arrives with 23 titles on his resume for his new adventure in The league Spanish, including a Champions League and a Club World Cup with Bayern Munich between 2020 and 2021.
In terms of salary, Lewandowski will be receiving nine million euros with the Barcelona shirt, which means three million less than what he earned with Bayern Munich, remembering that within the Bundesliga he was the highest paid footballer. If he manages to finish his contract with the Catalans intact until 2026, the attacker would be pocketing around 36 million euros just for salary, plus the bonuses that he can reach.
Despite this, Lewandowski is still below other veterans over 33 years old in terms of salary: the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (37 years old), for example, receives 25 million euros for each season with the Man Utdwhile the Argentine Lionel Messi (35 years old) receives 43.3 million euros for each year at PSG, being the two footballers with the most lucrative agreements in that age range.
But for Lewandowski the age factor is not a detriment, as he found out during his stay in Munich. In his first season he achieved a harvest of 25 goals, but in the sixth (in 2019-20) he reached his maximum record with 55, while in the farewell campaign (2021-22) he said goodbye with a total of 50 goals, so his scoring efficiency continues to have the seal of guarantee regardless of his seniority.
Barcelona is taking center stage in the current transfer market with the addition of other star players such as the Brazilian attacker Raphinha, who came from Leeds United in the Premier League for 58 million euros, as well as the Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessié, recently champion of Italy with AC Milan, and Danish central defender Andreas Christensen, who went on to win the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021; Kessié and Christensen arrived as free players.
In total, Barcelona’s transfer balance so far reaches 108 million euros in expenses against just 25.5 million in income, according to Transfermarkt. That figure could increase if the culé club finalizes the signing of French defender Jules Koundé, who currently plays for Sevilla, but is on Joan Laporta’s radar.
