A few days ago, FC Barcelona successfully signed FC Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski. The player who has packed 375 appearances and 344 goals with Bayern Munich is priced at 45 million + 5 million add ons or equivalent to Rp. 765.5 billion and signed a long-term contract for 4 years. It turns out that behind the transfer of this mega star besides bringing profit, it can also bring loss to La Blaugrana.
Barcelona has often been discussed in financial matters, especially the salary cap set by La Liga. This regulation makes La Blaugrana unable to register some of its new players to La Liga, because they have not succeeded in selling their old players.
This problem also occurred last season when bringing in Ferran Torres from Manchester City. Coutinho’s loan to Aston Villa at that time had not been able to create a gap for Barcelona to register Ferran, but in the end Ferran was able to be registered following Samuel Umtiti’s new contract which received a salary cut.
For the case of Lewandowski this time it was reported that he was also experiencing problems related to player registration. Even the bleach report reports that La Liga has not allowed Barcelona to register other new players as well such as Raphinha, Kessie, Chhristensen and Kounde, and has not allowed Dembele and Sergi Roberto’s contract renewals before they get more money and can stabilize their financial balance.
This statement is in line with what Javier Tebas has said. When their superstar Lionel Messi left last season, Tebas said that signing Free Agent players would still add to La Blaugrana’s financial problems, because they still have to pay salaries.
In addition, FC Barcelona is also being rumored to have not paid Raphinha’s transfer fee, reported from The Athletic that Leeds United boss Andrea Radrizzani stated that he would wait for Barcelona’s payment for Raphinha’s transfer until 2 September, or else there would be a Global Case for Barcelona, and the whole media will attack El Barca.
With the arrival of Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona currently has 9 forwards. Among them are Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres, Ez Abde, Raphinha, Ousmane Dembele Robert Lewandowski, Memphis Depay, Aubameyang and Martin Braithwaite.
With the accumulation of players in the attack line, it will certainly make it difficult for Xavi to rotate because there are too many players available on one side. This will also have a negative impact on some players who will get few minutes to play, which will make them also difficult to sell in the market, and less useful for the team, it actually threatens their future and also the club’s finances, players like this are usually called as deadwood.
Robert Lewandowski came with the status of a star player, of course the role he will play later is as a core player. Given the age that is no longer young (33 years) will have an impact on the regeneration of Barcelona on the attacking side, the regeneration that is trying to be built will be hampered again.
Remembering a few seasons ago El Barca released their mainstay striker Luis Suarez on the pretext that he was too old, but instead brought in an old striker this time. Minutes playing for young players will be reduced and of course this can potentially hamper the regeneration that is being pursued by FC Barcelona.
Lewy was indeed a very bright player when he defended FC Bayern Munich, he was even one of the finalists of the Ballon D’or last season, and also the winner of UEFA Best Player. However, it should be remembered again, that Lewandowski’s sharpness was only seen when he defended Die Bayern, in contrast to When defending his home country, Poland, Lewandowski recorded 76 goals from 131 matches with the Polish national team, but he has never once led the Polish national team to go far in the tournament- tournaments such as the Euro and the World Cup.
At Euro 2012 Poland, which was the host, had to be eliminated in the group stage, while at Euro 2016 they lost to Portugal in the quarter-finals, most recently at Euro 2020 Poland failed to qualify from the group stage after failing to win a single win from 3 matches. Meanwhile, in the FIFA World Cup, Lewandowski will only be able to bring the Polish national team to the biggest tournament in the world at the end of 2022. But on the other side. The signing of 33-year-old Robert Lewandowski also brings many benefits to FC Barcelona, including:
Robert Lewandowski is a world star label, he is one of the best strikers ever. So, it’s no wonder that the sale of his jersey will greatly help FC Barcelona’s finances, even in the first week after his arrival, Official FC Barcelona store ran out of letters W and S due to the overwhelming demand for a jersey with the Lewandowski name. In addition, Lewandowski is also a very famous player in his home country, Poland, of course this will be very profitable for Barcelona, so Barcelona will be helped by the increasing number of fans from Lewandowski’s country.
Bringing in star players like Lewandowski is certainly expected to get FC Barcelona back on its feet, El Barca, who had stumbled last season in La Liga and had stopped by in the UEFA Eurpa League for failing to qualify for the Champions League group stage, of course carries the mission of getting up this season. Those who missed the title last season are trying to improve the depth and quality of the squad by bringing in star players like Robert Lewandowski, so that the events of last season do not repeat themselves and make their variations or attack options more numerous.
With the joining of Robert Lewandowski, it will certainly increase the value of FC Barcelona, because Lewandowski was one of the finalists of the Ballon D’or last season. So, it is hoped that the signing of Robert Lewandowski can attract more sponsors who enter in order to help the financial problems that the club is facing. In addition, the arrival of the 33-year-old striker can also make it easier for Barcelona to bring in other great players, because their squad will look more competitive and ready to compete in various championships.
Bringing in players who are old like Robert Lewandowski can indeed hinder the regeneration of players that are being pursued by the club. However, this signing is not entirely detrimental, because with a wealth of experience and achievements, Robert Lewandowski can be a good Mentor or Role Model for young FC Barcelona players.
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