Multiple Barcelona senior members ready to welcome a ‘lucrative offer’ for veteran forward – report

According to a report published by The Athletic, some people with the Barcelona administration are ready to sell Robert Lewandowski this summer as they are dissatisfied with his progress so far.

The Polish striker was bought in from Bayern Munich, hoping that he can mirror his own output with the Bavarians, while also taking over from Lionel Messi, who had to leave the club on a free transfer in 2021.

While he did fairly well in his first season (2022/23), scoring 31 goals across all competitions, and winning the Pichichi Award in La Liga for his 23 goals, that trumped Karim Benzema’s output of 19.

The source claims that someone from inside the club described the reasoning behind Lewandowski’s signing, calling him a ‘go-to man’.

“A lot of people believe Barcelona need to have a franchise player. A go-to man who sells shirts, represents the public image of the team and becomes a reason to attract fans to the stadium,” they said.

While his output and performances saw a downward tick since the 2022 World Cup, Lewandowski was also called into question by Xavi at half-time for a lack of intensity during the eventual scrappy 3-2 win against Almeria.

Coaching staff sources had also been underwhelmed by Lewandowski’s goalscoring by that point in the season, with Xavi publicly calling him out to bring back his A-game.

And while there are senior club members who would be willing to sell the former Bayern Munich man, the power lies with the player, who is under contract until 2025, at the very least.

His contract also includes an additonal fourth year, which will automatically get triggered should he play more than 55% of the games for Barcelona during the 2024/25 season.

Further, the player is confident that he will overcome his slump, and has arguably already begun climbing uphill, with five goals in his last four games for Barcelona.

It was also his dream for several years to play at the Camp Nou, and is not willing to leave the club just two years into his tenure.

With a new manager now coming to the club in the summer, it will be interesting to see how they manage Lewandowski’s minutes and importance, especially with Vitor Roque and Marc Guiu at the club