(Football news) FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich have reached an agreement for the transfer of Polish striker Robert Lewandowski for a fee of £42.5m. The player is expected to fly to Spain today in order to undergo a medical before signing a three year contract with the option to extend for a further year. Lewandowski has publicly stated that he will not be renewing his existing contract with the German champions, prompting Bayern to sell their prized asset this summer instead of losing him for free.

Bayern had insisted that Lewandowski was not for sale throughout the summer and rejected a €40m (£33.8m) offer from Barcelona last month. However, getting £42.5m for a 33 year old who has a year remaining on his contract is good business for the German club and the money will help them finance a move for Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt for around €80m (£67.7m) plus bonuses. Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic was in Turin on Monday to negotiate with Juventus for the transfer as the player is also keen on moving to Germany. 

Lewandowski leaves behind an illustrious legacy at Bayern, scoring 344 goals in 375 appearances for the club. He also won eight Bundesliga titles in eight seasons, three German Cups and has been recognized as the league’s top scorer for five consecutive seasons after scoring 35 goals in 34 games in the 2021/22 season. He has the third highest number of goals (312) in Europe’s top five leagues behind Cristiano Ronaldo (384) and Lionel Messi (392). With Lewandowski leaving Bayern, the club could turn their attention to Cristiano Ronaldo in order to bolster their attack. The Portuguese superstar has handed in a transfer request to Manchester United and has not joined the club for their pre-season tour.

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