Robert Lewandowski has turned down the opportunity to join Chelsea this summer in favor of a dream transfer to Barcelona.
Lewandowski has drawn interest from a number of teams, including Chelsea, despite his refusal to sign a new contract and the fact that he still has one year remaining on his agreement with the Bundesliga winners.
Lewandowski, as was first reported by Sport, turned down the chance to join the Premier League team because he preferred to sign with Barcelona.
Romelu Lukaku’s disastrous comeback has prompted Thomas Tuchel to seek for a top-tier striker, and the manager has offered the Poland captain a chance to join Chelsea.
Lewandowski is reportedly Xavi’s primary transfer target, so the 33-year-old looks to have his sights set only on Barcelona.
Barcelona’s troubles in signing new players owing to financial issues fueled Chelsea’s initial interest in the striker.
However, the La Liga club is now set to act swiftly to conclude a deal for Lewandowski after its members unanimously decided to sell future marketing and television rights.
The striker’s services for the upcoming season were also said to be of interest to Paris St. Germain, but that interest has since subsided.
With money slated to become available to lure new players to the Nou Camp, Lewandowski is anticipated to finalize his move to Spain in the upcoming days.
After playing in Germany for 12 years, he will join Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a former Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal striker, at the Spanish giants.
In Munich’s past season, Lewandowski once more made an impression, scoring 50 club goals across all competitions compared to Lukaku’s pitiful 15 goals for Chelsea.
However, Chelsea will now need to shift their focus elsewhere since the Belgian is likely to return to his old team Inter Milan, leaving the Blues without a known striker.