Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski has called on the club to plunge into the transfer market during the summer in a bid to become more competitive next season.
Barca have had much publicized financial problems over the years, but last summer committed around €160m to new players and brought back €50m through sales.
They were also not able to register every new signing and contract renewal with La Liga until the start of the season due to a cap on spending power – the €50m buy of Jules Kunde in the opening two as a result of that delay. missed the game.
Barça executives had to seek additional income and managed to secure a cash injection by activating various ‘economic levers’, effectively selling off a proportion of various future earnings.
That strategy has sort of worked, seeing Xavi’s team drop just 10 points all season to top La Liga with just 13 games left. A win over Real Madrid in El Clasico at Camp Nou on Sunday would see them extend their lead over Los Blancos to 12 points and seal their first title since 2018/19.
But the Champions League has been a different story. Barca were knocked out in the group stage for the second consecutive season and did not progress beyond the first knockout round in the consolation Europa League after a two-legged aggregate defeat to Manchester United.
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Lewandowski, who joined from Bayern Munich for €45 million and has scored 25 goals in all competitions, is not calling for miracles but has suggested there is still room for improvement.
He said, ‘There’s a good team here ESPN, “maybe a [or] Two changes make this team not perfect, but more competitive. Sometimes we talk about small things, but if you change it, it will be even more wonderful.
Discussing Barcelona’s shortcomings in Europe, Pol said, “This season we had problems in the Champions League and we must fix that, but so far we are not ready to fight for it at the highest level. [all] Three titles: Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey.
“It’s impossible. It’s impossible to change something in football in a week or a month, it takes time.
“I always wanted to play in La Liga. You know there are a lot of problems for Barcelona. But when I saw the way they want to go, I said: ‘I can be part of it.’
“I saw the I Challenge myself and told myself that I am ready to take it up. I may be 34 but it’s just a number and I know I can play at the highest level for many years, I don’t know how many years, but I’m always happy to play. I care more about mental things than about physical things.
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On this edition of Talking Transfer, which is part of the 90min Podcast Network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey And toby cudworth Discuss Harry Kane’s future at Tottenham Hotspur, Joao Felix could join Chelsea permanently, David Raya, Marco Asensio, Alexis McAllister and more! If you can’t see this embed, click Here Podcast to listen to!