Julian Nagelsmann was the key figure in Robert Lewandowski’s Barcelona move

Barcelona appear to be on the verge of finally getting their marksmen, Robert Lewandowski. The Polish forward appears to be on his way following a drawn out saga of two months.

Yet things seemed to fall into place very quickly when it did happen. Bayern Munich had maintained a stubborn stance that Lewandowski would not be leaving before the end of his contract, at least publicly.

According to Mundo Deportivo, it was Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann who was the key figure in forcing through a deal. The Bayern squad returned to training on Wednesday, with Lewandowski cutting a forlorn figure. On Thursday the two had a meeting in which Lewandowski explained that his public statements were not merely tactics, but a true feeling that his spell at Bayern was over and now, he had no motivation to be in Bavaria.

Following that Nagelsmann promised to help unblock the deal and spoke to the higher ups at Bayern in order to request they get the deal done. After four offers in the space of 24 hours, the two came to an agreement on a deal of €45m plus €5m in variables.

No doubt Nagelsmann was in part looking out for his squad too, knowing that Lewandowski’s presence could be burden for morale. Yet it does lend more credence to the idea that footballers can force their way out of a club if they really want to. It is a common theme in the NFL that players will sit out games if they do not get a move or a new deal and it could be on the horizon in football too.