Could selling Lewandowski be the best thing for Barcelona?

Robert Lewandowski’s future is up in the air. The player himself made it clear just a couple of weeks ago by saying that “[he hasn’t] thought about what will happen next season”.

He has two challenges on his to-do list with Barça (LaLiga and Champions League) and one with Poland (the playoff for the 2024 Euros in Germany). Then, in June, we will see what he decides. With both Saudi Arabia and MLS interested in signing the player, he will not be short of offers to play.

Barça’s sports commission also has a question mark over Lewandowski, who has a contract until June 2026, although there is a clause that requires him to play at least 55% of games in his third season for his last year of contract to be valid. The Pole’s salary will reach its maximum in the 2024-25 season. Therefore, the decision on his continuity is strategic in terms of both economic and on-pitch levels of thinking.

If Barça decide to sell Lewandowski, it would free up salary space that would permit a rearranged configuration of the squad. The good relationship between the player’s agent, Pini Zahavi, and Joan Laporta could facilitate an agreement. Obviously, if the decision comes that he is to leave Barça, the club would be so satisfied with freeing up his salary that a transfer fee would not be a stumbling block in negotiations.

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Presumably, Barcelona’s future coach must also have an important say in the decision regarding Lewandowski. Whether he considers that he is still fit to be a top player at 35 years of age (he will turn 36 in August), or prefers a squad redesign, will be up to them.

At the moment, Lewandowski is scoring goals like always. He is not at the numbers of his peak seasons, but he already has 18 goals this season and has already given the team fourteen points in the league, more than last season. In the Champions League, he also scored the important goal in the 1-1 draw against Napoli.

But what has most pleased the club and the coaching staff has been his commitment. Far from turning a blind eye after the announcement of Xavi’s departure, the first thing he did was to organise a lunch at his home on one condition: that all the first-team players would attend.

Since that lunch, he has scored five goals in six games and has looked sharp and very determined to get the team back to a level where they still have a chance of winning the two competitions left this season.

In two weeks’ time, he will focus on trying to get Poland into the European Championship. Before that, however, he wants to leave Barça with a chance in LaLiga and, above all, with a place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Only after those objectives have been met will he talk about what happens next.