Robert Lewandowski’s time at FC Barcelona may be coming to an end, as the Catalan club reportedly has identified a replacement they plan to bring in this summer.
Barcelona has ‘accelerated’ plans for the next season following the defeat to Girona, which secured the Spanish championship title for Real Madrid, and is preparing to overhaul its attacking line-up.
According to the British newspaper The Sun, the board led by Joan Laporta intends to ‘run off’ Robert Lewandowski, the highest-paid player in the Catalan squad, with wages around 27 million pounds (31.5 million euros) per season.
The publication adds that Darwin Núñez, a former Benfica player who currently plays for Liverpool, where he earns roughly a quarter of that amount, is the preferred target to replace the Polish international.
However, any deal would depend on the future of Mohamed Salah, as the Reds would only consider negotiating the Uruguayan international’s transfer if the Egyptian withstands the ‘pursuit’ from Saudi Arabia and stays at Anfield.
If Barcelona is to realize this plan, they also need to find a buyer for Lewandowski. In this regard, the Spanish club reportedly plans to primarily look towards Major League Soccer and Saudi Arabia.
However, what might ultimately thwart this plan is the Polish striker himself. He has previously been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, but he has reportedly made it clear that he has no desire to leave Barcelona under any circumstances.
Therefore, it’s no secret that it could prove to be a very difficult task for Barcelona to sell Lewandowski to another club after this season.
For this reason, it cannot be ruled out that they might try a different approach. This could involve having a conversation with the Polish striker, asking him to take a pay cut to free up more space in their budget.
