Robert Lewandowski exit 'celebrated' by Bayern Munich with secret Barcelona transfer fee

Bayern Munich were ‘celebrating’ after the Robert Lewandowski ’s transfer to Barcelona was confirmed on Saturday.

An extraordinary report into the Poland international’s switch to the Camp Nou has revealed how the German champions were willing to allow the striker to leave without a transfer fee prior to the Catalan giants transfer interest arriving in May, resulting in a €60million (£51.9m) deal. It is significantly more than Bayern paid to sign Sadio Mane this summer in a £35.1million agreement.

The report in El Pais insists that the transfer fee totals €10million (£8.5m) more than what is being reported by the clubs due to a secret agreement. Barca were said to have pledged the full amount of €60million if Bayern confirmed the figure at €50million, in order for the Blaugrana to receive favourable impact within the media.

The transfer fee is broken down as €45million in a lump sum upfront payment, with a further €5million should Barca qualify for the Champions League within a specified timeframe. The extra €10million is said to be deferred by a year as an arbitrary measurement of the striker remaining at the Camp Nou for the entirety of the 2022/23 campaign.

The deal is said to be viewed as a roaring success by Bayern officials, who had decided after their Champions League quarter-final exit to Villarreal that the player would be informed he could leave the club as a free agent should he wish to move on – as they looked to reinvent their attack.

Lewandowski’s contract at Bayern had been due to expire in 2023 but Nagelsmann, alongside CEO Oliver Kahn, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and president Herbert Heiner had unanimously agreed that the club needed to invent an alternative attacking plan without the