Robert Lewandowski will end his time as a Barcelona player at the end of the season, having decided to leave the club when his contract is up. The 37-year-old did have a offer on the table from the newly-crowned La Liga champions, but he has decided to take his career in a new direction.
In recent weeks, it has been reported that Lewandowski had an offer on the table from Barcelona. However, he was told that he would only be allowed to say if he took a significant wage reduction, while also accepting the fact that he would be second or third choice in the striker pecking order.
In the end, Barcelona and Lewandowski failed to see eye-to-eye over a renewal, and according to Sport, one of their disagreements regarded contract length. The veteran striker wanted a two-year deal, whereas the Catalan club were only prepared to offer him one.
Lewandowski would even have accepted a one-year deal with a second year included in the event that he achieved certain objectives, but Barcelona made it very clear during negotiations that they were only prepared to offer him a 12-month contract.
Lewandowski set for move to Saudi Arabia
Lewandowski will now begin his search for his next club, and according to the aforementioned report, it is likely that he ends up in Saudi Arabia. He recently received an offer with a €15m-per-season salary from MLS side Chicago Fire, but this has since been blown out of the water by Al Hilal, who are prepared to pay the Poland international €45m a year to sign for them.
Lewandowski was open to joining Chicago Fire up until the Al Hilal offer came in, and barring any late surprises, he should becoming the second Barcelona player in two seasons to make the move to Saudi Arabia – after Inigo Martinez went to Al-Nassr in 2025.
