 "Transfer rumours: Lewandowski done, Dybala closer to Roma, Ronaldo shuts 'fake news'")
It is summer, off-season in European leagues which could only mean - transfer rumours. Speculations that can be nauseating for some and dramatic for others. Transfer rumours and speculation are rife with clubs jostling to sign the best players, to plug gaps and outlays that makes you scream “the game is gone”. To help you catch up with the big confirmed deals and transfer stories, Firstpost will run a weekly recap to be published every Monday. Without further ado, here we go: Robert Lewandowski joins Barcelona
The Robert Lewandowski. pic.twitter.com/trSoeG51hC
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 18, 2022
Barcelona are cash strapped and in desperate need for funds to register players and to bring in talent at reasonable prices. So everyone’s bewilderment when they went for Robert Lewandowski made sense. The Polish striker didn’t stay quiet or mince words either at Bayern Munich. He was clear he wanted out, needed a new challenge and as far as big obstacles go, current Barcelona is up there. Bayern and Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle for Lewandowski and the striker would be travelling to USA for the pre-season tour . The cost? Just the €45 million and €5 million in add-ons. Raphinha going to Chelsea Barcelona
𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 16, 2022
Raphinha: First day at the office pic.twitter.com/MMJ17TjlTq
If last week is any indication, one could say Barca are both in strong financial position and desperate as well. They outpriced Chelsea for the signature of the Brazilian winger . For how much? €59 million in an initial fee and €6m in add-ons. The club’s cash influx can be attributed to €267 million deal to sell 10 percent of their LaLiga TV rights for the next 25 years to US firm Sixth Street. De Jong wants to stay, Barca want him to leave Frenkie de Jong’s loyalty to Barcelona is being rewarded with the Catalans telling him to bugger off to Manchester. The Dutchman agreed to take a pay cut during the pandemic in exchange for the money to be added to his salary later. The deferred payment is part of the logjam between the player and club. Barcelona are keen on sending him off to Manchester United. So much so, the clubs have spoken and agreed on a reported €85 million . To make things worse, Barcelona have refused to pay De Jong’s deferred salary because they want to offload him. Man Utd are refusing to pay something they never agreed to. The player doesn’t want to let the money go and would rather stay. If De Jong does stay, Barcelona want him to not just forego the deferred payments, they want him to take a paycut on top of that. Good luck with figuring that out! De Ligt on the verge of joining Bayern
Matthijs de Ligt to FC Bayern, here we go! Verbal agreement has been reached tonight as clubs have been in contact all day - final bid accepted by Juventus for package worth more than €80m 🚨🔴🇳🇱 #FCBayern
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 17, 2022
De Ligt has already agreed personal terms and will sign until June 2027. pic.twitter.com/JRQRubjVPD
Bayern are using that Lewandowski moolah and strengthening their defense. As per credible sources in Germany, Matthijs de Ligt is close to joining the Bavarians for €45 million from Juventus. This looks set to be done this week. Paulo Dybala headed towards AS Roma Also likely to be done this week is Paulo Dybala joining AS Roma. The free agent has reportedly agreed a deal in principle to sign for Jose Mourinho-managed Roma. The Argentine was also linked with Inter Milan after his contract with Juventus expired. For a free transfer, this makes a lot of sense. Man United bring in Martinez, Eriksen
Christian Eriksen is a RED! ✍️🔴#MUFC || @ChrisEriksen8
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 15, 2022
Even as attempt to sign De Jong rambles on, Man Utd have been busy elsewhere too. They’ve snapped up the services of Denmark's Christian Eriksen on a three year contract. As far as feel good stories go, this is right up there.
An agreement has been reached for the transfer of Lisandro Martinez 🔴🇦🇷#MUFC || @LisandrMartinez
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 17, 2022
Also coming in is Lisandro Martinez from Ajax for nearly €57.3 million which could go up to €67.3 million. He will join on a five-year contract. These two signings have taken Man United’s transfer in’s to three with Tyrell Malacia the first. Paul Pogba returns to Juventus (again)
🗣 "𝐈'𝐌 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊"
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) July 11, 2022
Il suono più bello del mondo @paulpogba ❤️#POGBACK pic.twitter.com/a931QH0qTM
United are also getting rid of dead weight. It was all but done but it became official in the previous week. The prodigal son, Paul Pogba, returned to Turin on a four-year contract. After six years at United and countless misplaced passes, the Frenchman will hope his return to former clubs goes better than Romelu Lukaku's to Chelsea . Ronaldo might end up staying One player who wants out but can’t find any real takers is Cristiano Ronaldo. The United striker made it clear he wants to leave Old Trafford and asked the club to listen to offers. His agent spoke to new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly but the Londoners are not going in that direction. PSG, Bayern and Atletico Madrid have also clarified they are not interested so the blockbuster linkup between Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is, sadly, not happening either.
Cristiano Ronaldo officially describes rumours of his imminent comeback to Sporting as “fake news”. ⛔️🇵🇹 #MUFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 17, 2022
Ronaldo denies this rumour as he’s not considering to re-join Sporting this summer. pic.twitter.com/zug9taK6vt
Meanwhile, he has labelled a social media post linking him to Sporting Lisbon as “fake news”. An unnamed Saudi Arabian club were willing to pay €30 million to United with €275 million in wages over two years but the striker, who still wants to play at the top level and compete in Europe, has turned it down . QUICK RECAP: DONE AND DUSTED! Raheem Sterling – Manchester City to Chelsea, £47.5m Paul Pogba – Manchester United to Juventus, free Christian Eriksen – Brentford to Manchester United, free Raphinha – Leeds to Barcelona, £55m Kalidou Koulibaly – Napoli to Chelsea, £33m Mesut Ozil – Fenerbahce to Istanbul Basaksehir, free Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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