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Robert Lewandowski is reportedly playing for his future as Barcelona prepare for a summer fire sale, with only three stars safe from the chop.
Barcelona are set to refresh their squad in the summer after an underwhelming season in which they are poised to finish a distant second to Real Madrid.
Their wage cap has been set at £174.4m by LaLiga – a colossal reduction on the £553.9m they were permitted to spend in February 2023.
They will need to shift players and while Lewandowski is one of the world’s best strikers, his form this season has not justified his enormous wages.
He will earn £22.5m over the course of this season, with that set to rise to £27.7m next campaign.
According to The Athletic, only Lamine Yamal (16), Pau Cubarsi (17) and Gavi (19) have ‘untouchable’ status.
Robert Lewandowski is reportedly at risk of being sold by Barcelona amid financial constraints
The Polish striker, 35, has scored 23 times this season but his enormous wages are a problem
They represent the next generation of La Masia graduates and it is far easier to keep such players on diminished salaries compared to long-established stars.
Yamal, still the age of a schoolboy, has smashed records – he is Barcelona’s youngest-ever player in LaLiga and the Champions League, Barca and the league’s youngest goalscorer, the youngest Spanish top-flight champion, and Spain’s youngest scorer.
Meanwhile, centre-back Cubarsi has played with wisdom beyond his years and Gaviu has been injured for most of the season and is set to miss Euro 2024.
Barcelona’s real squad cost is around £420m and LaLiga have said they need to make cuts before they can recruit more players.
Understandably, somebody earning so much as Lewandowski is at risk.
While he has scored 23 goals this season, there is an acknowledgement that he has lost some of his clinical edge and ability to contribute in a wider way. He is 35.
Xavi said: ‘I am not going to…