Barcelona likely to ask veteran star to take wage cut next summer - Reports
Barcelona will reportedly ask Robert Lewandowski to take a pay cut next summer as the club looks forward to operating normally in the market at the end of the ongoing season.
In recent times, La Bluagrana have reportedly asked many of their players to take a pay cut, which has helped the La Liga giants overcome the loss. According to Sport, the Pole forward's contract will be expiring in 2025, with an option for a further year.
Moreover, his salary scale has been increasing with every year at Camp Nou since he joined the club from Bayern Munich in 2022 for a reported transfer fee of €45 million. Considering the club's good relationship with Lewandowski's agent, Pini Zahavi, the club can ask the forward to take a wage cut in the final two years of his deal.
The former Bayern Munich forward has come under fire from fans after he failed to score for La Bluagrana in the recent few matches. In his last 10 appearances in La Liga, he has recorded only three goals and an assist for Barcelona. Nevertheless, the arrival of Vitor Roque in January can solve a few goalscoring problems for Xavi Hernandez.
Barcelona star lauds Xavi Hernandez for his support
Spanish goalkeeper Inaki Pena has lauded Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez for his support. Pena recalled that he was in reserves for La Bluagrana when Xavi arrived at Camp Nou.
Nevertheless, Xavi wanted to give minutes to the Spanish goalkeeper. As a result, he initiated a loan deal for Pena to the Turkish side Galatasaray. Pena stated (via the official website of Barcelona):
“When Xavi arrived I’d been in the reserves for several years and was the first team’s third-choice keeper. He felt I had the potential to play for the first team and he wanted to me to get playing time somewhere else.
“He helped me to get the loan deal with Galatasaray. He thought I did well and when I returned he told me he thought I was ready to compete with Marc. That’s why I signed a new contract last season.”
Pena is playing as the first-choice goalkeeper for the La Liga giants due to Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s back injury. The German goalkeeper is not expected to make his return to Xavi's side before February. This season, Pena has played seven games for Barcelona, where he has kept one clean sheet and has conceded 12 goals.