Barcelona 'are preparing £43m offer for No 1 summer transfer target Robert Lewandowski'

Barcelona 'are preparing an offer of £43million for Robert Lewandowski' with the Polish striker making no secret of his desire to leave Bayern Munich this summer.

After members of the Nou Camp club voted to ease the pressure on finances by selling off a portion of their merchandising and television revenue last week, cash has been freed up to sign their No 1 summer target.

Lewandowski, 33, who scored 50 goals in 46 matches for Bayern last season, wants a fresh challenge after growing disillusioned with his life at the Allianz Arena.

And Spanish newspaper Diario AS report that Bayern will demand a premium price for a highly-valued player who still has a year remaining on his contract.

The German champions are also spending £35m to sign Liverpool forward Sadio Mane and so have a need to replenish their own coffers.

Mane is due in Munich early this week for his medical and will then be presented as a Bayern player, marking an evolution of the team that takes them beyond Lewandowski.

But the departure of a player who has scored 344 goals in 375 matches for Bayern over eight seasons is unlikely to go down too well with their supporters.

It was reported over the weekend that Lewandowski turned down the chance to join Chelsea, suggesting Barcelona is his destination of choice.

Last week, Barcelona members voted in favour of the club selling off part of its retail arm, Barcelona Licensing and Merchandising [BLM], and part of its future TV rights revenue, to raise cash to boost Xavi's squad this summer.

The sale of 49.9 per cent of BLM was voted through by 568 in favour, 65 against, and 13 abstentions.

The sale of up to 25 per cent of the TV rights for 25 years was given the green light by 494 voting members in favour, with 62 against and again 13 abstentions.

President Joan Laporta said the deals could raise between £512m and 598m.