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Robert Lewandowski joins Barcelona in Miami after sealing £42.5m move from Bayern Munich | Transfer Centre News


Robert Lewandowski has joined his new Barcelona team-mates in Miami after completing his £42.5m (€50m) from Bayern Munich.

Barca agreed a deal to sign the striker, who is understood to have signed a three-year contract with the club with an option for a further 12 months, over the weekend.

Although there has been no official written confirmation, Lewandowski wore Barcelona colours in a series of videos posted on the club’s Twitter account from Miami.

“Finally I am here and I am very happy to join Barcelona,” he said in a video released by Barcelona ahead of its US tour.

“The last few days were very long days but in the end the deal was done so now I am going to focus on a new chapter in my life and a new challenge.

“I am still the guy who wants to win, not only the game but also the titles so I hope from the beginning of the season we will begin winning and go for the titles during the season and at the end of the season.

“I always wanted to play in La Liga, I always wanted to play for the biggest clubs. It is the next step. Also for my private life, it was a new challenge.

“I know that it’s time to get Barcelona back on track and I am here to help them get back to the top and to winning as many titles as possible.”

‘Xavi has an amazing future’

Lewandowski could make his Barcelona debut when his new side play Inter Miami in the first match of their tour on Tuesday.

They then face Real Madrid in Las Vegas, Juventus in Dallas and the New York Red Bulls in New Jersey.

“I have been speaking with Xavi and I know that from the beginning I know his mind and his ideas are going in a good way. For me, he made it easy for me to come to Barcelona,” Lewandowski added.

“I am a player that wants to play and to win and with Xavi that is very possible. He knows exactly how to coach Barcelona because he was an amazing player and now he is a very good coach with an amazing future.

“Goals are always a high. I always want to win, not only the games but also the titles. We have so many players with amazing quality and we can achieve a lot this season.”

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Spanish football expert Graham Hunter explains how Barcelona can afford their summer signings and their financial situation

After agreeing his move, Lewandowski previously told Sky Germany: “I didn’t have much time to prepare for it. It all went very quickly to say goodbye to everyone!

“These eight years were special and you don’t forget that. I had a great time in Munich.

“After the training camp I will come back and say goodbye properly and organise a few things.”

Lewandowski had just one year remaining on his Bayern contract and had told the club he would not renew his deal.

Up until now the German champions had insisted Lewandowski was not for sale and turned down a €40m (£33.8m) offer from Barcelona last month.

Matthijs de Ligt
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Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt is set to join Bayern Munich

However, Lewandowski’s departure would help Bayern to finance the signing of Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus, who have agreed to sell the centre-back for around €80m (£68m) plus bonuses, according to Sky in Germany.

Hasan Salihamidzic, Bayern’s sporting director, was in Turin on Monday to open negotiations for De Ligt with Juventus. The Dutchman has two years remaining on his Juve contract and is reported to have told the Italian club he is keen to move to Munich.

Chelsea have also been tracking De Ligt this summer as they try to replace Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, who both left on free transfers but have completed a deal for Kalidou Koulibaly.

Lewandowski: The numbers do not lie

Lewandowski had been with Bayern since 2014 and scored 344 goals for the club in 375 appearances across all competitions.

He helped Bayern to eight Bundesliga titles in the last eight seasons, as well as three German cups, and has just been crowned the league’s top scorer for the fifth season in a row after netting 35 goals in 34 Bundesliga games in 2021/22.

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