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Robert Lewandowski left FC Bayern in 2022 and joined FC Barcelona. New investigations now reveal an attempted fraud.
Munich – FC Barcelona spent almost 50 million euros on the striker who had been outstanding for years FC Bayern cost. And two years later it can be said: The investment in Robert Lewandowski was worth it. In 78 games, the Pole scored 52 goals and provided 17 assists.
His statistics at FC Bayern are beyond any doubt. However, there are now doubts about whether the transfer will go smoothly.
Around two years after Lewandowski’s move to Spain, joint research by the German reveals Spiegelthe anti-crime network OCCRP, the Spanish radio station Cadena SER and the Dutch platform Follow The Money inconsistencies.
Robert Lewandowski scores and scores – no matter what jersey he wears. © IMAGO/ANNA KLEPACZKO
Fraud in the Lewandowski deal between FC Bayern and FC Barcelona?
There was an attempted fraud in the course of the mega move – which FC Barcelona may even have fallen for. When the change was officially announced, the Catalans received an email from the address [email protected] with a request to transfer one million euros to a certain Michael D. According to the email, Michael D. was said to have been a lawyer. FC Barcelona confirmed receipt of the letter to Spiegel.
Pini Zahavi is one of the best-known player agents in football and looks after Lewandowski and his coach Hansi Flick, among others. He played a fundamental role in the transfer. According to his own statements, he had nothing to do with the ominous email. Apparently it was a scammer who misused someone else’s identity.
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Did FC Barcelona allow itself to be ripped off with the Lewandowski transfer?
It has not been conclusively clarified whether FC Barcelona actually transferred the requested million. But there are indications of this. That’s how he got it Spiegel learned from a source that a transfer had actually been sent from Barcelona to a Cypriot account. However, this was not accepted by the Bank of Cyprus.
When asked whether the money had actually been sent, FC Barcelona replied that Spiegel not specific. The association only emphasizes that the sender of the email did not receive any money. The only thing that is certain is that when it comes to managing financial matters, the club has generally not cut a happy figure in recent years. FC Bayern is still waiting for money from Catalonia. (epp)
