Barcelona 'agree £42.5m deal for Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski'

Barcelona and Bayern Munich have reportedly reached an agreement over the transfer of striker Robert Lewandowski.

The 33-year-old went public with his desire to leave the German champions earlier in the summer and is understood to have been pining for a move to Camp Nou.

Lewandowski has less than 12 months left to run on his existing contract at the Allianz Arena, meaning that Bayern were at risk of losing the Poland international on a free transfer in 2023.

However, club chiefs such as Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic frequently insisted that the two-time Best FIFA Men's Player will honour his contract with the Bavarian giants.

Barcelona refused to throw in the towel over a move for Lewandowski in spite of their financial problems, and according to The Athletic, an agreement is now in place.

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The outlet claims that La Blaugrana will pay an initial €45m (£38.3m) to sign the 33-year-old, which could rise to €50m (£42.5m) with performance-related add-ons.

Lewandowski is already understood to have agreed personal terms on a four-year contract with Barcelona, which would see him don the Catalan colours after his 37th birthday.

The former Borussia Dortmund man prepares to leave Julian Nagelsmann's side having scored a staggering 344 goals in 375 matches, as well as providing 72 assists in all tournaments.

Lewandowski has won the Champions League, the Club World Cup, eight Bundesliga titles, three DFB-Pokals, one UEFA Super Cup and five German Super Cups during his prolific spell at the Allianz Arena.

Despite his advancing years, Lewandowski still managed 50 goals from 46 games in all tournaments in the 2021-22 season, although he will leave without having broken Gerd Muller's club record of 563 goals.

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Back in May, Lewandowski confirmed his desire to seek out a new challenge to the press, saying: "My story with Bayern has come to an end, I cannot imagine further good cooperation. I hope they will not stop me (from leaving) just because they can. A transfer is the best solution for everyone."

Lewandowski was said to have been open to a move to Chelsea if a transfer to Barcelona fell through, but Blues boss Thomas Tuchel effectively ruled out a move for the Pole earlier this week.

The Bayern attacker would become Barcelona's fourth major signing of the summer, following free agents Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen to the club as well as Raphinha.

La Blaugrana have also tied Ousmane Dembele down to a new contract until the summer of 2024, and Lewandowski will compete with Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for starts in the final third.

Lewandowski's arrival could open the door for Memphis Depay to leave the club in the coming weeks, while Martin Braithwaite is also expected to depart and Luuk de Jong returned to Sevilla before joining PSV Eindhoven following his loan spell at Camp Nou.