Robert Lewandowski Barcelona departure all-but ruled out as contract clause revealed

Despite having had a brilliant goalscoring season up until now, speculation continues to persist on Robert Lewandowski’s future as a Barcelona player. The Polish striker, who turns 37 in August, has scored 30 goals in 32 appearances across all competitions, with his latest strike being the winner against Alaves last weekend.

Due to his age, Barcelona have started looking at possible successors to Lewandowski, and moves could be made as early as this summer. However, whoever comes in would need to compete with the veteran, as it is almost certain that he will continue in Hansi Flick’s squad until the end of next season.

Previously, it had been rumoured that Lewandowski’s current deal runs out this summer, but with a clause being included that triggers an automatic one-year extension if a certain number of appearances are made during the current campaign. This is not the case, although the actual clause is somewhat similar.

As reported by Sport, Lewandowski’s Barcelona contract runs until 2026, meaning that he will stay for at least one more season. However, the club did have the option to unilaterally trigger a contract termination for this summer if he played less than 55% of competitive matches for the Catalan giants during the current campaign.

As things stand, Lewandowski has reached 50.8%, and only three more appearances would see him overtake the 55% threshold. As such, Barcelona would need to ensure that he plays no more than two matches if they want the option to shorten this stay by 12 months.

There is no doubt that Lewandowski has been a very good signing for Barcelona since his arrival from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022. If he can continue this goalscoring form the next season and a half, then there would be no qualms about his continuity. However, given that he continues to recede in terms of his overall play, there are concerns about him remaining as an undisputed starter.