Barcelona are reportedly trying to get out of granting striker Robert Lewandowski a hefty pay rise worth around £5.2m.
The Poland international penned a four-year contract with Xavi's team in the summer of 2022 after ending his glittering spell at Bayern Munich, and his salary is due to rise every season.
A scintillating first campaign from Lewandowski saw the 35-year-old come up with 33 goals across all competitions, including a league-high 23 in La Liga as Barca stormed to the top-flight title.
However, Lewandowski has failed to hit his usual lofty heights in the 2023-24 campaign, managing nine goals and five assists in 21 games amid La Blaugrana's collective struggles.
Lewandowski has managed just three goals in Barca's last 10 La Liga matches, while he also failed to score in each of the Blaugrana's last four Champions League group-stage games, although they still sailed through to the knockout rounds.
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The 35-year-old's downturn in fortunes this season has led to suggestions that he could be axed by Barcelona in 2024, with teams from Saudi Arabia believed to be keeping a close eye on the situation.
It has also been claimed that Barca could consider Lewandowski's sale to boost their chances of signing Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, but the Pole is in no rush to end his Camp Nou adventure.
For the 2023-24 campaign, Lewandowski is expected to receive approximately £22.5m in remuneration, and his pay is set to shoot up to £27.7m should he stay on the books for 2024-25.
However, as part of their ongoing cost-cutting measures, Sport claims that the Blaugrana could try to re-negotiate the terms of Lewandowski's contract to get out of paying him his agreed increase.
The former Borussia Dortmund man does not envisage himself leaving La Liga before his Barcelona contract comes to an end, and his camp could end up agreeing to forgo his owed rise.
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Lewandowski's agent Pini Zahavi is understood to possess a good relationship with Barcelona president Joan Laporta, and he has made it clear that the forward will be going nowhere in 2024.
Despite rumours that Barca could sanction the 35-year-old's departure to fund future business, the report adds that the club plan to build their future project around him and imminent arrival Vitor Roque.
Lewandowski has come up with a total of 42 goals and 13 assists in 67 matches for Barcelona since departing Bayern Munich, who received £39.1m for his sale last summer.
Barcelona occupy fourth place in the La Liga table, seven points worse off than Real Madrid and Girona, and their first game of 2024 takes them away to Las Palmas on January 4.
Ben Knapton
