Will another star move to Saudi Arabia? Robert Lewandowski has become a target of Saudi clubs

Representatives of Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski have received an offer from Saudi public investment fund PIF, according to Rudy Galetti. Several clubs from Saudi Arabia had already tried to acquire the Polish cannonballer in the summer, but without success. What are the chances now?

PIF hopes to open discussions with Barcelona about a possible transfer that would bring the 35-year-old to the Saudi Pro League. He has already been lured by teams there in the summer, but Lewandowski has remained in Europe.

He helped the Catalan team win the La Liga title last season, scoring 23 goals and assisting seven more in 34 games. This current season, he is not doing so well. He is also becoming a target for criticism and has a poor record by his usual standards.

In 17 games in all competitions he scored only 8 goals. After the Saudi clubs managed to successfully sign Karim Benzema and other stars like Kalidou Koulibaly, Malcom, Rúben Neves, Sergej Milinković-Savić and Aleksandar Mitrović, they have not completed the transfer of Lewandowski and Mohamed Salah from Liverpool.

However, it is expected that they will be successful sooner or later. All indications are that their interest in Europe’s biggest stars will reappear as soon as the transfer window opens, as reported by ESPN.

Reasons for the transfer

It’s not an open secret that Barcelona don’t have enough financial resources and the club is not in a good position financially in the long run. According to recent reports, the Catalan club’s management is starting to worry about the Polish international and now there are constant rumours that the club might want to get rid of him.

After the win over Atlético Madrid, a wave of criticism descended on Lewandowski. “The club is seriously considering selling Lewandowski in the summer.”

Several clubs from Saudi Arabia are interested in the 35-year-old. Lewandowski has complained more often in recent games and even refused to shake the hand of his young teammate Lamine Jamal in the match against Deportivo Alavés. ” This kind of thing happens on the pitch. It’s a normal situation between two players. There is no bad blood or bad intentions between me and Lamin. Everything is fine!”

The contract and its bizarre clause

The 35-year-old Polish striker controversially moved to Barcelona from Bayern Munich for just under £43 million at the age of 34 and signed a four-year contract with his new employer.

The Catalans can terminate Lewandowski’s contract a year early after the 2024/25 season. That decision would depend on the player’s performances during his third season at Barcelona. It is reported that the club could activate the unusual clause if Lewandowski does not participate in at least 25% of the matches in the 2023/24 season, either in the starting line-up or playing at least 45 minutes.

In addition, Lewandowski’s multi-million pound salary is subject to change over the four years of his original contract. Barcelona continues to struggle with huge debts and is constantly looking for ways to cut spending. A sale could therefore be a financial boost, both in the wages saved and the amount it would collect for the transfer.

View by Lewandowski

“I still have the desire and passion. I think I can play for another three or four years because physically I feel very good,” he told Spanish daily Marca.

He may now be regretting in his own mind that he left a well-run Bayern Munich, where he was adored and loved. England captain Harry Kane is now scoring goals for the German side and may soon break his Bundesliga record for goals in a single season.

Source: Marca, ESPN, Sport, Twitter