Robert Lewandowski opens up on Barcelona transfer

Robert Lewandowski has spoken out after completing his move to Barcelona following a long-drawn transfer saga.

Speaking in an interview with BILD, Robert Lewandowski has opened up on his transfer to Barcelona after a long-drawn soap opera involving himself, the Catalans and Bayern Munich.

The 33-year-old had made up his mind to leave the German champions and declared his intentions publicly, as he refused to sign a new contract with the Bavarian giants. Barcelona had been eyeing a move for the Poland captain for a while and ramped up their pursuit of the striker, only for Bayern to block all their attempts.

Indeed, Barcelona had three bids rejected by Bayern Munich, who remained insistent that Lewandowski is not for sale. However, over the weekend, the Bundesliga giants finally relented and accepted Barcelona’s bid worth €45 million, plus €5 million in add-ons. Not long after, an official announcement regarding Lewandowski’s transfer to Barcelona was issued.

Upon completion of the transfer, Lewandowski spoke to German publication BILD and shed light on the transfer and his feelings over how the negotiations between all parties went down.

“The last few weeks have been difficult. It’s not easy for me to find the right words. There are a lot of things going on in my head at the moment. In the end, everything happened very quickly. There wasn’t much time to think about anything. Now I’m happy to have found a solution. I’m happy to be able to get back on the pitch quickly with Barcelona. For me, this is the next step in my career,” Lewandowski said.

Explaining why he chose to join Barcelona, the 33-year-old said: “I wanted to play in a league other than the Bundesliga, I had made that decision for a long time. But I have to emphasise that it was the hardest decision of my life. Barcelona had problems last season. But the club has a huge potential and has made good signings. I think the club is on the right path, back to the top. My goal is very clear to go up with Barça and win.”

Talking about the long-drawn negotiations over the deal, Lewandowski said: “As I said, both sides did things that were unnecessary. But maybe certain things had to happen to make the move possible in the end. I think both sides are happy now. Bayern got a lot of money and I can sign for Barcelona. It’s been a long and difficult road, but I think in the end we can all look each other in the eye.”

Lewandowski arrived in Spain late on Saturday before departing to Miami, where he has linked up with the rest of the Barcelona squad on their pre-season tour.