Is Robert Lewandowski joining PSG?
PSG director of football Luis Campos has put forward the name of the Poland captain as a target, although Lewandowski would prefer a move to Barça.
Following the arrival of Luis Campos as director of football at the Parc des Princes, PSG have been formulating a transfer pan ahead of next season. The Portuguese analyst, who worked with José Mourinho at Real Madrid and built the great Monaco side of the mid-2010s by bringing in the likes of James Rodríguez, Radamel Falcao, Fabinho and João Moutinho among others, has been handed the task of adding more quality to an already stacked squad and has alighted on wantaway Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski as a perfect accompaniment to Leo Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar.
PSG have long been interested in a move for the Poland captain, who has made his intention to leave the Allianz Arena this summer plain. However, it will not be an easy deal to pull off due to a frosty relationship between the Parc des Princes and Bayern and because Lewandowski has expressed his preference for joining Barcelona. Bayern rejected an initial bid of €32 million from the Camp Nou, but Barça will go back for another attempt when they have freed up some space on their own wage bill.
PSG keen on Lewandowski
Now, L’Equipe reports that Campos has decided to throw PSG’s hat into the ring. Despite reporting losses of between €200m and €300m last year, PSG are not short of liquidity to mount an operation for Lewandowski, who earns around €9m a season at Bayern. As L’Equipe notes, the current FFP regulations afford PSG a certain amount of wiggle room to add players and the Ligue 1 champions have a long list of players they will be attempting to move on this summer.
Another issue is Bayern’s stance. The Bundesliga giants have said they will not be acceding to Lewandowski’s request to leave and that the Poland striker will see out the final year of his contract. And then there is the matter of the Messi-Neymar-Mbappé triumvirate: the arrival of Lewandowski would probably require the benching of one of the front three, and as Mbappé is untouchable that would mean a scenario involving either Messi or Neymar being among the substitutes. Mauricio Pochettino found last season that playing the “fantastic four,” with the addition of Ángel di María, left PSG too exposed and the Argentinean was used sparingly, before leaving the club at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.