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Robert Lewandowski was one of the statement signings FC Barcelona made in the summer transfer window last year.

The Blaugrana shelled out a sum of €45 million to land the Poland captain from Bayern Munich, and just six months into his stint at Camp Nou, the signing is proving to be worth every penny.

In 26 appearances across all competitions, Lewandowski has already scored 23 goals and set up five more for his teammates. The 34-year-old is the leading goalscorer in La Liga this season, while he recently won his first trophy with the club, lifting the Spanish Super Cup.

Lewandowski sat down for an interview with beIN Sport recently and opened up on the Super Cup triumph in Riyadh, where they beat Real Madrid in the finals.

“After this first trophy, I have to say that I felt something like ‘ok, I’m here, I’m at Barça and I’m a player who already won something with this club’. Now we can think about the future and winning more titles,” Lewandowski said (h/t Mundo Deportivo).

“But after winning the Super Cup I felt like I was at home, a real feeling that, not that you have to prove anything, but with this team, we can look forward and see what we can achieve,” he added.

Further elaborating on what the Super Cup triumph meant for him and the rest of the Barcelona team, the veteran striker said:

“It was a very nice feeling, because in La Liga you have to wait several months to see if you can be champion. Winning the Super Cup was important, also for the young players, to feel more comfortable and confident for the future. I think the team had the same feeling after winning the Super Cup.”

During the interview, Lewandowski also spoke about manager Xavi Hernandez and lavished praise on the Barcelona legend, saying:

“He was an incredible player, and those who are now around him as a coach retain that feeling of doing and transmitting the right thing, and you believe him and know that it’s the right way and that’s why you support him and follow him and go along the same line.”

“He was an incredible player, he was the No. 6 or a No. 8, he saw everything on the pitch, he went backwards and forwards, if in that position as a player, he already saw everything, imagine now as a coach,” Lewandowski added.

The striker also stressed that Xavi has the requisite tools to be a top coach, saying: “He has experience because he was at a club for two years and it is important to understand the difference between being a player or a coach.

“To be a top coach there is a small difference, but that difference is what ultimately makes you successful or not, and I think he understands what he has to do and he is doing it well.”

After enjoying a sensational breakthrough season in 2021/22, Barcelona midfield prodigy continues to collect accolades for his spectacular rise.

The club have officially confirmed that the 18-year-old sensation has won the Aldo Rovira Memorial Award for being the Best Barcelona Player in the 2021/22 campaign.

The Aldo Rovira Trophy is an award handed out to the best player at FC Barcelona for that season and is decided by a jury comprising the board of directors and heads of sport in Catalan media.

The award was first created in 2010, in memory of the son of former Barcelona director, Josep Lluis Rovira, who had passed away in a car accident a year before.

Over the years, some of the greatest players of Barcelona like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Gerard Pique have all been recipients of the award. In fact, Messi won the award as many as six times during his time at the club.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen was handed the prize for the 2019/20 season while Pedri was honoured with the accolade for the 2020/21 campaign.

Now, it is Gavi who has picked up the prestigious Aldo Rovira Memorial Award for his breakthrough performances in the last season.

He has once again followed in the footsteps of Pedri, having won the Raymond Kopa Trophy and the Golden Boy Award for 2022, much like his Barcelona teammate in 2021.

A product of Barcelona’s youth academy, Gavi has gone on to make 77 senior appearances in which he has four goals and 11 assists to his name. He has won the Spanish Super Cup with the Blaugrana this season and will hope to add plenty more trophies to his collection in the years to come.

It’s given that if Barcelona want to make new signings in the summer, they must lower their wage bill.

But what’s new in this situation is the fact that La Liga president Javier Tebas has reminded the Blaugrana that they would take legal action ‘against the very precautionary measures taken by the judge of the commercial court number 12 of Barcelona’, reports Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo.

As the league administrative prepares its appeal, they have informed Barcelona that the wage bill must be reduced by more than €200 million by the summer.

And the only way Barcelona can comply with the appeal is by selling players. This way, the team can show a revenue stream and this can also serve to lower expenses, especially for those who are on a bigger payroll.

Interestingly enough, Barcelona are in a good state than they were this time last year. For the purpose of selling players, Memphis Depay has already exited and as far as the summer transfer window is concerned, several big names are already lined up.

In that regard, Sergi Roberto’s name is at the top of the list. It must be remembered that the full-back’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season and it remains to be seen whether or not he accepts Barcelona’s new offer.

If he ends up staying, one can safely assume that the player has taken a substantial cut in his wages.

Meanwhile, the likes of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba are among those who are rightly tipped to leave by the summer. The two captains, who are past their prime, will be reviewed and the most likely outcome is going to be an exit.

On the other hand, a certain Franck Kessie represents a perfect market opportunity. The midfielder, who is certainly out of favour, joined Barcelona last summer on a free transfer from Milan. Given that his contract runs until 2026, Barcelona can demand a good amount of transfer fee if a suitor comes calling.

Barcelona legend Ronaldinho has confirmed that his son, Joao Mendes de Assis Moreira, is set to join the club imminently.

Mendes had been a part of the Cruzeiro youth setup since the age of 14, but recently terminated his contract with the Brazilian outfit.

Last month, it had been reported that the young striker had arrived in Barcelona and was undergoing a trial with the club’s Juvenil A setup, with president Joan Laporta himself understood to have been keeping a close eye on the situation.

It now seems that Joao Mendes has successfully completed his trial as Ronaldinho has confirmed in a chat with RAC1 that his son will be joining the club soon.

“I’m never out of the club. Barcelona is part of my life. Wherever I go I take Barcelona with me. With the arrival of my son at Barça I’ll be more present,” the former Brazilian international said, as quoted by MARCA.

“Yes, he is coming now. With his arrival I will be more present than ever,” he added.

Aged 17, Joao Mendes plays as a striker and is left-footed. With the signing now all but confirmed, he will be joining some exciting young talents within the club’s youth ranks such as Lamine Yamal and Angel Alarcon, with the latter even receiving first-team minutes this season.

Given Ronaldinho’s legacy, there will certainly be a great level of expectations riding on the 17-year-old Joao Mendes

Barcelona have been prowling the transfer market for youngsters with great potential. Having missed out on the signing of Endrick, they have turned their focus towards Athletico Paranaense striker Vitor Roque.

At the same time, the Blaugrana also have their eyes on other young prospects like Arnau Martinez of Girona and Las Palmas’ Alberto Moleiro, among others.

Now, it is being claimed that Barcelona have also taken an interest in 20-year-old Serbian winger Stefan Mitrovic, who plies his trade for Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade).

This has been confirmed by the youngster’s father himself, who claimed in a recent interview that Barcelona had contacted them along with several other clubs.

As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, he said: “As a father, I have to say yes, that Barça have contacted us, just like other clubs.”

This claim comes after Crvena Zvezda’s sports director Zvezdan Terzic confirmed that the club had rejected offers worth up to €6 million for Mitrovic.

“We have rejected offers of up to €6 million. We trust Stefan a lot but now we cannot sell him, because he has already played for two teams this season and could not do it in a third. Recently we have had offers from three big clubs for him,” he said.

Mitrovic moved to Red Star Belgrade last summer, joining from boyhood club Radnicki Nis. In 24 appearances for the Serbian giants, the winger has produced a tally of five goals and two assists.

A left-winger by trade, the 20-year-old is capable of playing on the opposite flank as well, while he can also operate as a central attacking midfielder. He also has one cap for the Serbian national team.

It remains to be seen whether there is any truth to Barcelona contacting Mitrovic’s camp and if the La Liga leaders intend to follow up on their reported interest in the young attacker.

Unbeaten in 15 games across all competitions, Barcelona have built up some excellent momentum for themselves recently. This run of form includes some incredible wins, like the 1-3 against Real Madrid, 1-0 against Real Sociedad, and as recently as yesterday, 3-0 against Sevilla.

All has not been a bed of roses, though, as they have had to really struggle against some opposition. Getafe, Atletico Madrid, and Real Betis, for example, did their best to serve as a hurdle to their progress.

However, scraping out wins in the toughest of games is a sign of a winning team. And Barcelona are en route becoming one, once again, as they have created an eight-point lead over the top of La Liga.

Speaking about Barcelona’s improvement — as quoted by Mundo Deportivo — and their season so far, president Joan Laporta replied with all smiles.

“We are doing well in La Liga. If we had been told before the start of the season that were were going to reach the half-way point of the season with 53 points and an eight-point lead, we would have been happy.”

Credit where credit is due, Xavi has truly transformed the team. He came under fire earlier this season when the team dropped to the Europa League after finishing third in the Champions League, but has built back the confidence of the Camp Nou faithful.

“Xavi has done an excellent job. He arrived at Barcelona at a time of major adversity, and now he has managed to create sensational chemistry in the team,” Laporta added in praise of the young manager.

Currently riding on a streak of ten wins in a row, Barça’s schedule does not get any easier from here on. They will face Villarreal on the weekend before hosting Manchester United at the Camp Nou next Thursday.

Should Barcelona come out of this schedule largely unscathed, they could be in the run to win a fair few titles.

Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Luis Campos recently sat down with Telefoot, where he offered his thoughts on various topics around PSG, along with the status of first-team superstars such as Neymar and Lionel Messi.

Most notably, the director confirmed PSG’s talks with Messi and doubled down on the club’s desire to keep him a part of the team in the foreseeable future.

“At the moment, we are in discussions with Messi for his extension. I would like to keep him in this project, I can’t hide it. We are talking at the moment to achieve this goal, and continue to have him with us,” Campos told Telefoot.

Campos took over the reins at PSG during the summer, replacing Leonardo Araujo. Although Campos’ new signings have had mixed success, the director has been credited for his work in the dressing room, which has translated into an excellent start to the season for PSG.

Campos’ influence has been critical in the management of the club’s star players as well, with various sources suggesting that Messi is determined to continue his chapter at Parc des Princes for at least another year, despite interest from former employers Barcelona.

Ben Jacobs broke an update yesterday, suggesting that PSG have failed to reach a verbal agreement with Messi over a renewal.

Although the update might have alerted Barcelona, there are no immediate indications that Messi wants to leave Paris this summer. In fact, it is PSG who have the upper hand, and if everything goes well, the forward is set to earn a new contract until 2024, with an option to extend it further.

In any case, Barça are not in a position to make a move to re-sign the Argentine in the coming summer, due to the problems with Financial Fair Play rules.

After securing a narrow victory against Real Betis, FC Barcelona will shift their attention to the weekend encounter against Sevilla, as they look to maintain their solid five-point lead at the top of the league table.

There are many incentives attached to this game, as coach Xavi Hernandez has reportedly promised the players two days of holiday next week if they can secure all three points. But apart from that, Barcelona are also poised to break a record that has been intact since the Pep Guardiola era.

Indeed, the club are heading into the Sevilla game with a record of just one goal conceded in the last ten home league matches. The only goal they conceded was against local rivals Espanyol in the highly-controversial derby at the end of last year.

Nevertheless, if Barcelona manage to keep another clean sheet against Sevilla, they will beat the record of the 2011/12 Barça team that had conceded only two goals in a stretch of ten home matches in the league.

During that 2011/12 edition, Barcelona had started the season with zero goals conceded in the first nine matches. But their perfect defensive record was tarnished when the Catalans, under the leadership of Pep Guardiola, conceded twice in a 4-2 victory over Real Betis.

While Pep’s Barça back then was chock-full of star defenders such as Gerard Pique, Puyol, Javier Mascherano, Dani Alves and Victor Valdes, Xavi’s 2022/23 edition of Barcelona are close to achieving that feat with a relatively modest and inexperienced setup.

This speaks volumes about how Xavi has managed to instill a sense of organisation and discipline into the Barcelona squad. It has been visible in the team’s performances in the domestic competitions this season, and should the team continue their good run against Sevilla, Barça will become the undisputed favourite to lift the league title this term.

Ansu Fati was for long considered the crown jewel of La Masia. The winger was the first of many young academy talents to break into the first team in recent years and instantly gave off a strong image of a player made to stay for decades.

Unsurprisingly, Fati’s future has never been in doubt, and a transfer away from Camp Nou has never been in consideration. Until now.

The youngster’s mediocre start to the 2022/23 season and clear dip in level are creating doubts about his long-term continuity for the first time.

According to reports from SPORT, Manchester United are interested in the Barcelona prodigy’s signing if the La Liga leaders open the exit doors. The English club would make it a priority to sign him in the summer window if the conditions are amicable.

Though he started off on an explosive note, Fati has had a rough chapter at Barcelona so far. Injuries have not been kind to him and having to go under the knife multiple times did not help his situation.

Xavi Hernandez believes in the player and his ability to come around stronger with regular minutes under his belt. However, the Catalans might be tempted to consider his sale owing to their dire economic situation and desperate need to generate revenue.

Furthermore, the report also suggests that Fati and his camp might get frustrated with his lack of game-time, considering that he is currently behind Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele, and Raphinha in the pecking order.

The recent shift in formation and tactics has seen even Gavi move ahead of Fati in the order of preference.

The 20-year-old has taken part in all 19 of Barcelona’s La Liga games this season, albeit started only on seven occasions. In that duration, he has scored three goals and provided three assists in addition to an average of 0.5 key passes per game.

Fati signed a new contract with Barcelona in 2021, committing his future to the club until the summer of 2027. The Blaugrana included a €1 billion release clause as part of the new deal.

As of now, the Catalans do not see his exit as a real possibility. Yet, given the volatility of the football world, it would not need much time for that stance to change.

It was recently reported that Barcelona have had their first renewal offer to Sergi Roberto rejected by the player.

The Barcelona veteran, whose contract at Camp Nou expires at the end of the season, is one of two club captains facing an uncertain future at the club, along with Sergio Busquets, who has been subjected to a move to Inter Miami in the summer.

A recent report from Toni Juanmarti has offered an update on Barcelona’s renewal pursuit of Roberto, explaining the reason why the player decided to knock back the club’s first offer.

It appears Barcelona had included a special clause in Roberto’s extension offer that would have allowed the club to unilaterally extend the length of the contract to a further year. The clause will be dependent on the number of matches the player participates in.

Roberto believes the clause is unfair and he is favouring a contract extension of just one year, with no option to extend it a year further.

This is hardly surprising as the Spaniard had to take up a 60% salary cut in the summer in order to extend his stay at Barça. He remains keen on prolonging his stay at Camp Nou, but signing a contract with a special clause would mean that his overall salary could remain unchanged for the second additional year.

Even if Roberto continues to perform well at the highest level or Barcelona improve their financial stability, the player’s salary may not increase in the second year. Therefore, he is only willing to sign a one-year deal that will expire in 2024.

The report, though, points out that both Roberto and Barcelona have an excellent relationship and should soon figure out an agreement that suits all parties involved