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The signing of Robert Lewandowski by Barcelona had repercussions on a global scale. The Polish striker is one of the best footballers at the moment and FC Barcelona managed to hire him at a much lower salary than he was paid at Bayern Munich. Joan Laporta personally thanked him for his “extraordinary efforts” to join the Catalan entity. He did so during the player’s official presentation as a new collet last Wednesday, with both the pole and the president mentioning the difficulties the Bavarians have imposed on releasing their star.

Bayern Munich can’t get over Lewandowski’s departure
Robert Lewandowski has already turned the page. You have already worn your new colors and your wish to leave Allianz Arena has been fulfilled. The Warsaw striker was deeply disappointed by the treatment received by the board of his former club and even his agent, Benny Zahavi, declared that “Bayern not only lost Lewandowski as a player, but also as a person.”

His position was extreme, and Hasan Salihamidzic, the Bavarians’ sporting director, explained in an interview with Zeit magazine: “I don’t understand his position. And not just because I fulfilled all my contracts as a player, I would do it internally and myself. Understanding Lewandowski’s position is really going back to the point. Zero”.

Bayern Munich thirsts for revenge against Barcelona
He also accused Julian Nagelsmann of signing his star with FC Barcelona: “I don’t know how Barcelona signed so many players. Barcelona is the only club in the world that doesn’t have money, but then they buy all the players. I don’t know how they do it. It’s a bit strange, a bit crazy”

The coach is also upset by the striker’s departure, but thanks to his income, they have made the arrival of Matthijs de Ligt official from Juventus in Turin. Now, as revealed by Sport, they are hungry for revenge against Barcelona and are considering resuming negotiations to sign Frenkie de Jong. In fact, the Dutch midfielder will see better eyes ending in Bavaria than in Manchester, because the Germans play in the Champions League while the English do not.

Be that as it may, if Bayern Munich really wanted to sign Frenkie de Jong, they would have to scratch their pockets to get past the verbal agreement made by Barcelona and United on the previous Ajax transfer: €75m fixed plus 10 in variables.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that striker Rey Manaj is close to joining English side Watford on a three-year deal. The 25-year-old striker is expected to be in London tomorrow.

Interestingly enough, Barcelona have decided to reserve a percentage in case of a future sale by Watford of the Albanian.

Manaj has already visited the facilities of the English club and he will be in England now to complete the formalities before joining up with his new teammates.

As reported by The Athletic, the 25-year-old forward had a meeting with Watford officials a few days back. The player, meanwhile, also revealed that he considered several approaches from different clubs from Spain and Italy.

Manaj arrived in Barcelona in January 2020, joining the Segunda Division B side Barcelona B on a three and a half years contract. He was called up to the main roster by former manager Quique Setien but remained an unused substitute till the end.

He played his bit part with Ronald Koeman at the beginning of the 2020-21 season, getting a decent run-in during the pre-season. Many believed he would become a regular fixture, but Barcelona had other ideas.

In August 2021, he was loaned out to Serie A side Spezia Calcio with an option to make him permanent for €2.7 million. While the 25-year-old made 30 appearances for Spezia, a majority of them came from the bench.

Hence, a return of just five goals did not come as surprise.

Upon returning to Barcelona, it was pretty much clear that there is no place for him in the current team. The 25-year-old simply does not fit into Xavi’s scheme of things, meaning that it is in the best of interest for everyone involved to part ways.

With the summer transfer window now open for business, Barcelona are looking to accelerate the pursuit of their desired targets.

Deals for Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen have been announced while work continues to be done to sign Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha. Another key target for manager Xavi Hernandez and Barcelona this summer is Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.

Given that Barça will be losing three centre-backs this summer in Oscar Mingueza, Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti, it makes sense for them to add another defender apart from Andreas Christensen.

And, Kounde has been the topmost priority for Xavi to bolster the position. However, Sevilla’s valuation and the interest from Chelsea have meant that the deal has not progressed.

But, journalist Gerard Romero is now claiming that Kounde really wants to move to Barcelona, with manager Xavi having already spoken with him three times this summer.

Romero himself reported earlier in the week that the 23-year-old French international had already agreed personal terms with the Blaugrana. And a transfer could be possible for a sum of around €55-60 million.

Barcelona, though, have been trying to lower the price tag by offering a player in exchange. There have been murmurs of including Sergino Dest or Memphis Depay as potential makeweights in the deal to convince Sevilla to part ways with Kounde for a lower fee.

Kounde has been one of the top-performing centre-halves in La Liga since joining Los Nervionenses from Bordeaux in 2019. The 23-year-old has exhibited great quality and has a high ceiling.

With the player reportedly keen on making a move to Camp Nou this summer and having already spoken with the Barcelona manager, it is now up to the two clubs to reach an agreement over the transfer fee

Press reports revealed that Barcelona defender Clément Lenglet is close to leaving the Blaugrana ranks during the current summer transfer market.

The French player participated last season in the injury periods of Ronald Araujo and Pique, and therefore his departure would be a natural matter given the club’s pursuit of a distinguished central defender.
Barcelona is seeking to get rid of Lenglet, especially if Conde joins Seville or Coulibaly from Naples, and club officials believe that the good levels presented by the French defender in his first two seasons with Barca will make clubs interested in him optimistic about restoring his level.
In this context, the Catalan newspaper, Mundo Deportivo, confirmed Roma’s interest in contracting French defender Clément Lenglet, Barcelona defender, during the current summer transfer period.
Clément Lenglet came out of coach Xavi Hernandez’s calculations completely due to his marked decline, especially since Barcelona signed Nicholas Christensen from Chelsea.
Barcelona is seeking to get rid of Clément Lenglet because of his poor level and high salary, but the problem is that there is no club interested in his services and ready to give him the same salary he receives at the Camp Nou.
The newspaper pointed out in its report that Jose Mourinho, coach of Roma, was interested in contracting with Lenglet last summer, and after a full year, the Portuguese coach still sees the French defender as a good option to strengthen the back line.
The report indicated that Roma wants a final purchase deal and will open the door to negotiations with Barcelona to sign Lenglet, knowing that there is also interest on the part of Tottenham and Marseille in obtaining the player’s services.
Mundo reported, quoting the Spanish newspaper, “Sport”, that Lenglet wants to persuade Xavi to stay, but everything within the walls of Camp indicates his departure, because the coach no longer depends on him in his project.

Spanish press sources revealed the scenes of the dialogue that took place between Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez and team defender Gerard Pique.

And according to what the Spanish newspaper “Sport” reported, Xavi met with Pique two weeks ago, and told him that he would not rely on him mainly next season.

Xavi defended his decision that Pique had physical problems that made him miss a month and a half of the crucial period last season, in addition to his unprofessional behavior off the field.

And the newspaper said, that the meeting was difficult because Xavi spoke clearly with Pique, but he did not question his footballing value at any time.

Xavi believes that Pique still has an undeniable quality, but he doubted his ability to hold out physically next season until its end.

Xavi believes that Pique is not focusing on football due to his multiple businesses, as well as his non-sporting differences.

Xavi sent a message to Pique saying that the best solution would be to leave the club with the greatest possible dignity, while giving up an important part of the money that Barcelona owes (as Carles Puyol did).

For his part, Pique rejected this proposal categorically, and wanted to refute all the coach’s arguments, stressing that he would train more than ever to restore his best version on a physical level.

And “Sport” reported, that the issue is now in the hands of Matteo Alemani, the sporting director, who must negotiate with all players who do not comply with Xavi’s plans.

Pique has a contract with Barcelona until June 2024, and the club owes him about 40 million euros.

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez is facing a difficult task in the new season in order to save the team from its suffering and bring it back to the podiums.

Barcelona came out of last season empty-handed, without winning any championships, contented with achieving second place in the Spanish League, a full 13 points behind rivals Real Madrid.

Barcelona is trying hard to strengthen its ranks in the next summer Mercato with special deals in all lines that contribute to returning the team to its previous era and strengthening it in the competition for titles again, as the club’s last title was the King’s Cup season 2020-2021.

But all these Catalan dreams collide with the financial crisis that the club is experiencing, which may prevent it from competing to include several distinguished deals that contribute to achieving the desired hope for the management and the fans, so looking for free or cheap deals will be the best solution to support the team.

And reports revealed that Xavi had received a new gift from an old friend in Barcelona, ​​as veteran Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez offered himself to return to the Catalan club again, to support the team.

According to the Catalan newspaper, “Sport”, the 33-year-old Sanchez wants to return to Barcelona, ​​​​and offered the club’s management his desire to play under the command of his old friend Xavi, and support him in the task of saving the Catalan team.

The newspaper pointed out that the Chilean player, who wore the Barca shirt during the period from 2011 to 2014, is good at playing in the center of the attack and will be a special deal that will not cost the Blaugrana a lot of money.

And the newspaper said, that Barcelona is preparing to pay 32 million euros to obtain the services of the Polish player Robert Lewandowski, however, Bayern sticks to its position and insists on the survival of the 33-year-old player and that he fulfill his contract that ends in June 2023.
Here, it should be noted that Sanchez, at the same age as Lewandowski, would be an ideal alternative to the Polish player’s deal, and at the same time, the Catalan club’s treasury would not cost a lot of money.

The Chilean international’s contract with his current club, Inter Milan, is scheduled to expire in the summer of 2023, but his continuation next season does not seem an option, and all possibilities indicate his departure from the “Nerazzurri”, which may be for a very low price, given his age and the survival of one season. in his contract.

Sanchez has a long professional career, as he started his career with the local Colo-Colo, before moving to the Italian Udinese and Barcelona, ​​which he played with from 2011 until 2014, before moving to play in England with Arsenal and Manchester United, and then playing for Inter since 2019.

Sanchez collaborated with Xavi during his time in Barcelona before leaving to Arsenal, and together he achieved 5 championships: the European Super, the 2011 Club World Cup, the King’s Cup 2012, the Spanish League and the Spanish Super 2013.

It is noteworthy that Sanchez participated during the last season in 39 matches for Inter Milan, including 27 in the Italian League, during which he scored 9 goals and assisted 5.