FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich have agreed in principle for the transfer of Polish forward Robert Lewandowski from Germany to Spain, the two clubs announced on Saturday.

The deal between Barcelona and Bayern Munich is dependent on the player passing a medical and contracts being signed.

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There was a lot of speculation over Lewandowski’s future and an obscure poker game was on between the player and club. Bayern were initially reluctant to release the talismanic striker but Lewandowski wanted to venture out and explore his horizons and compete for European titles more regularly.

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While Bayern wanted a minimum transfer fee of 50 million euros, the 33-year-old Pole decided not to turn up for his first working day in Munich this Tuesday.

But the matter seemed to have been resolved as Bayern finally reached a verbal agreement with FC Barcelona on the transfer of Lewandowski, the German club said in a statement on their website.

“It’s good for both sides that we have clarity. Robert has earned our appreciation, he has won everything with us. We are incredibly grateful to him,” said club president Herbert Hainer in an interview with local newspaper Bayerischer Rundfunk during the Allianz FC Bayern Team Presentation on Saturday.

Lewandowski stands out for his goalscoring abilities. Inside the box, he has all the tools to make him a difficult striker to read as he can find the net with his head and both feet with equal precision.

His technical qualities also mean that he can link up well outside the box also. Lewandowski will bring goals, experience and know-how to the Barca attack.

Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn said: “We have agreed to release Robert Lewandowski. We have a verbal agreement with FC Barcelona, the contract is still pending. We know very well what we have to thank Robert for, but great players have also left FC Bayern in the past, and even after that, Bayern’s world did not fall apart. On the contrary, it often continued with even more success.”

Born on August 21, 1988, in the Polish capital of Warsaw, Lewandowski started his career at Legia Warsaw. His professional career began in the youth teams in 2006 at Znicz Pruszkaw where he was the top scorer on two separate occasions.

A move followed to Polish first division side Lech Poznan where he was the top scorer in the league in 2009/10. The summer of 2010 brought a move to Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund where he won the German league title twice and collected a runners-up medal when Jurgen Klopp’s side lost in the final of the Champions League against Bayern Munich.

Lewandowski’s next move was to Bayern Munich where he became a vital part of the all-conquering Bavarian side. In 2020 with Bayern, the Polish striker won all there is to win; the Bundesliga title, the German Cup and Super Cup and the Champions League in which he was the top scorer with 15 goals.

And now his life has taken another turn and he will be appearing for Barcelona, who have been struggling to assert themselves again in the La Liga following the departure of Lionel Messi.

(Inputs from IANS)