Barcelona officially confirm Robert Lewandowski signing on four-year deal
Barcelona have officially confirmed the signing of striker Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich for a fee believed to be worth €50m (£42.5m).
The 33-year-old has put pen to paper on a four-year contract at Camp Nou which includes a €500m release clause.
The Catalan giants revealed on Saturday that they had reached an agreement in principle with Bayern for the transfer of Lewandowski, and the striker has since passed his medical before joining up with his new teammates on the club’s pre-season tour in Miami
Barca posted a plethora of images and videos of Lewandowski on social media wearing the club’s training gear on the beaches of Miami, and they have now officially unveiled the Poland international as their latest signing.
Lewandowski has become Xavi’s fourth signing of the summer window after the arrivals of Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie and Raphinha, the latter of whom joining from Leeds United in a deal worth an initial €58m (£49.2m).
Speaking to the club’s official media channels on Monday about his move to Catalonia, Lewandowski said: “Finally, I’m here, I’m very happy to be here with Barcelona.
“The last few days were very long days but in the end the deal is done. So now I can focus on a new chapter in my life, a new challenge.
“I’ve always wanted to play in La Liga and for the big clubs. I’m here to help Barca get back to the top and win as many titles as possible.”
Speaking about Xavi, Lewandowski added: “I was speaking with Xavi and from the beginning I know [what’s been on his] mind, his ideas. It was easy for me to decide to come to Barcelona because I’m the guy who wants to play, who wants to win, and I think that with Xavi it’s very possible.
“He knows exactly how to coach Barcelona because he was an amazing player and now he’s also a very good coach. He has an amazing future and I want to be a part of this as well.”
Bayern Munich have also confirmed the transfer from their end, with Lewandowski ending his trophy-laden eight-year spell with the perennial Bundesliga champions.
During his time at the Allianz Arena, Lewandowski won eight successive Bundesliga titles, and won the German top-flight Golden Boot on six occasions.
The prolific Pole won 11 more trophies including three DFB-Pokals, one Champions League and one Club World Cup.
Lewandowski leaves Bayern as the club’s second-highest scorer of all time behind Gerd Muller, netting a remarkable 344 goals in 375 appearances across all competitions and surpassing the 40-goal mark in each of the last seven seasons.
The striker could potentially make his non-competitive debut for Barcelona against La Liga rivals Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly in Nevada on Sunday.
Despite their financial problems, Barca president Joan Laporta has confirmed that the club will look to strengthen the defence for the remainder of the transfer window, with the likes of Chelsea right-back Cesar Azpilicueta and Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde believed to be on their list of targets.
