Deco willing to offload Barcelona's highest-paid player amid strong interest from Saudi Arabia: Reports

Barcelona sporting director Deco is reportedly prepared to sell Robert Lewandowski, who is the highest-paid player at the club. The Polish striker has spent two separate spells on the sidelines due to injuries this year, which could force the club's hands.

According to El Nacional, while the Barcelona hierarchy has been happy with Lewandowski's performances since joining them last year, his recent injury issues have created a doubt in the management's mind.

Manager Xavi is said to be waiting for the arrival of Vitor Roque in the January window, who is expected to take over the No. 9 role from the former Bayern Munich hitman. The aforementioned report claims that Deco is convinced Roque can take up the goal-scoring burden from Lewandowski.

As a result, the Blaugrana management is eager to listen to offers for the Poland international. Saudi Arabian clubs are strongly interested in Lewandowski, and Barcelona expect them to pay the €40 million transfer fee they are looking at.

The 35-year-old striker still has three years left on his contract with the Catalan giants. Since joining them in 2022 for a €45m fee, he has made 61 appearances across competitions, scoring 41 and assisting 12 goals.

This season, he has scored eight and assisted four goals in 14 matches across competitions. Lewandowski is also their top scorer in La Liga this term with seven strikes.

"Sometimes we don't play with enough attacking players" - When Lewandowski openly criticized Barcelona manager Xavi

Earlier this season in August, Robert Lewandowski criticized manager Xavi's attacking plans, claiming he doesn't get enough service. Explaining how Barcelona need to play attractive football, the striker told Actualite Barca (via football-espana):

“We are Barca and we are expected not only to win, but to play good attacking football. Lately that has not been as it should be, so we have been fighting to create more chances in games… When we see Ferran come on or Ansu, two players who go forward, we create more chances. Sometimes we don’t play with enough attacking players, I don’t have support… so I look for the best solution for the team.”

Lewandowski scored a brace in Barcelona's recent 2-1 La Liga win over Alaves. The Blaugrana will next be in action in the Champions League, where they face Porto on Tuesday, November 28.