Robert Lewandowski is one of the best goalscorers of his generation. Bearing that in mind, it makes complete sense that a club like Barcelona would buy him. Robert Lewandowski will be turning 34 next year. Bearing that in mind, it makes less sense that a club like Barcelona would buy him.
Robert Lewandowski costs up to €50 million, and will command a level of wage that Bayern Munich were unwilling to stretch to. All of this, in the middle of a massive financial crisis at the Catalan club, and bringing the Pole to the Camp Nou is a nonsensical decision from the hierarchy at the Catalan club.
While Lewandowski’s ability isn’t in doubt, Barcelona are in a severe financial crisis. They’ve been unable to free up space on their wage bill to register players at multiple points in the last couple of years, with club legend Lionel Messi leaving as a result, and the likes of Frenkie de Jong reportedly owed millions in deferred wages.
With the club in such a desperate financial position, the decision to splash the money on a player of Lewandowski’s age is bizarre. Make no mistake, there will be plenty backing him to be top scorer on the Betdaq bet exchange, and with good reason. However, there is a longer-term effect to take into consideration. Lewandowski will be 34 by the time the season is properly underway. He has managed to maintain himself physically until this point in his career, but it’s inevitable that, over the course of a four-year contract, he’ll lose his athleticism.
When that happens, Barcelona will find it an unlikely, if not impossible, proposition when they try and convince another club to buy him. Even if they let him leave for free, wiping away the €45 million they’ve paid for him already, it’s highly unlikely that any club will find his wages manageable. If he does leave before the end of his contract, the Catalan club will likely end up subsidising a large chunk of those wages anyway.
All of that notwithstanding, Barcelona already have an experienced goalscorer in their ranks. The club signed former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the beginning of 2022. Having turned 33 this summer, Aubameyang comes with many of the same problems as Lewandowski.
While signing one of the pair would perhaps be understandable, if still far from financially prudent, signing both is downright negligent decision making. The club also still have Antoine Griezmann on the books, although at least his wages, and his future, have already been shifted to Atletico Madrid.
The pair are more or less guaranteed to depreciate in value. A club in Barcelona’s position should focus on signings who will retain, or even increase, their value. Franck Kessié and Raphinha are both good examples — players proven in a top league who are in their mid-20s. Even if they have a poor season, the club are likely to get a fee for them in the future, and the pair still have the potential to grow in value.
Rather than going through a transition period and rebuilding their team, Barcelona seem to be hoping to doubled down and spend their way out of trouble, and that’s always a risk for a football club to take. Lewandowski will undoubtedly do damage on the pitch, but it’s off the pitch where his arrival could have the most impact.
