Barcelona officially unveil Robert Lewandowski
Having signed him a couple of weeks back, Barcelona officially introduced new signing Robert Lewandowski to a sea of supporters at the Camp Nou.
Lewandowski joined Barcelona from Bayern Munich in a rather tumultuous transfer saga, but one that had a happy resolution for the Polish striker.
In his press conference, Lewandowski spoke on joining the Catalan side as well as the effect manager Xavi Hernandez had on him.
“After just chatting for a few minutes I knew what kind of idea he had and I understood it and saw it clearly,” said Lewandowski, before touching on the excitement of starting a new phase in his footballing career: “The first thing I do when I get up is have breakfast and train. I do what I enjoy but I want to improve and more.”
While no one doubts Lewandowski’s quality, given his age, there were some eyebrows raised with Barcelona paying such a high fee for the 33-year-old. Lewandowski addressed this topic but was none too worried about it.
“Age does not matter, it’s just a number. I don’t feel 33 years old. Physically I feel great and I have been playing at the top level for years now,” said Lewandowski.
“My experience can help the rest of the players to perform better. The team has a lot of talent and potential. The future will be brighter – right now everything is going well and we have to show we are in good shape from the start of the season.”
Barcelona were crying out for a striker the quality of Lewandowski and the Catalans have not only added him but they also have a quality backup in the form of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
One bit of curiosity is when his jersey was unveiled, on the back was the ‘9’ which had been Memphis Depay’s number. Unsurprisingly, it led to questions about the decision and on the Dutchman’s future.
“It was a club decision,” Joan Laporta said. “We made the decision in the club’s interest, for the club’s image and advertising. We believe it was an appropriate decision.
“We have respect for Memphis.”
Lewandowski will have the opportunity to feature in front of home supporters on Sunday when the club take on Pumas in the Joan Gamper match.
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Judging by the excitement from only his presentation, expectations are high that with the addition of Lewandowski, Barcelona will have a legitimate shot of competing for both La Liga and the Champions League.