Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer said that his club agreed with Barcelona on the value of the transfer of Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, the best player in the world, to the Catalan team.
“We have reached a verbal agreement with Barcelona,” Hainer said at the Allianz Arena, while introducing the team’s players ahead of the 2022/2023 season to the fans.
He added: “It is good to have clarity with all parties, Robert is a great player and has won everything for us, and we are very grateful to him.”
And Oliver Kahn, the club’s chief executive, had made similar statements to the newspaper “Bild” after reports spread that Lewandowski had traveled to Spain on Saturday after saying goodbye to his colleagues after the last training.
“These eight years were special and unforgettable,” Lewandowski told Sky TV. “I had a wonderful time in Munich.”
Lewandowski plans to sign a four-year contract with the Catalan team on Sunday, according to reports that also confirmed that Barcelona had agreed with the Bavarian club on the value of the initial deal, which amounted to 45 million euros ($ 45.3 million).
The 33-year-old returned to Munich for pre-season preparations, despite his request to leave the team at the end of last season, with a year remaining on his contract with Bayern Munich.
On the other hand, Bayern Munich succeeded in securing its winger Serge Gnabry, whose contract had expired, by signing a new contract until 2026.
“I’ve thought a lot about what I want as a player in the coming years, and in the end I came to the decision to stay at Bayern and win everything again here, gain more experience and celebrate the Champions League again, but this time with our fans,” Gnabry said.
“I want to live more great moments here, and not anywhere else, I’m still hungry to win big titles,” he added.
Gnabry, 27, joined the Bavarian team from Werder Bremen in 2017, and won the German League title (Bundesliga) four times, the German Cup twice and the European Champions League in 2020 without a public presence in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, due to the emerging Corona virus crisis.
Bayern had succeeded in signing Senegalese international Sadio Mane from Liverpool, and the financial return in the Lewandowski deal may help him to sign Dutch defender Matthias de Ligt, Juventus, the Italian.
Bayern have been linked with the inclusion of Matthias Tal, 17, of the French Stade Rennes, and Konrad Laimer from Leipzig.