Barcelona 'refuse' to increase Robert Lewandowski bid
By Tom Gott
Barcelona president Joan Laporta is claimed to have admitted that the club do not plan to increase their bid for Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.
The wantaway Pole is desperate to join Barcelona before Bayern's pre-season begins on July 12 but the two clubs have failed to reach an agreement thus far, with Barça's latest bid of €40m understood to be short of the asking price.
Indeed, 90min understands that Bayern are looking for €60m but would come down to €50m if the right deal was offered.
AS state that Laporta was asked about the status of Barça's bid during an 'informal meeting' with journalists, in which the president vowed that he would not pay more than the €40m which is already on the table.
Agent Pini Zahavi is working with Barcelona to try and get a deal done but has so far failed to convince Bayern to lower their asking price, leaving Lewandowski increasingly frustrated as he faces being forced to return to pre-season training.
The situation is being monitored by Chelsea, who are on the lookout for a new striker after sending club-record signing Romelu Lukaku back to Inter on a season-long loan.
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The Blues' previous regime were close with Zahavi, who has made it clear that Lewandowski's preference is to join Barcelona.
However, with Barcelona unprepared to raise their bid, Lewandowski may be forced to consider other options if he truly wants to leave the Allianz Arena this summer.