Close call: Barcelona’s narrow escape from fraud during Lewandowski transfer operation | OneFootball

It was in the summer of 2022 when Barcelona, buoyed by their ‘economic levers’ secured a deal to sign Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.

The Blaugrana agreed a deal worth €45 million in fixed fees and another €5 million in add-ons, taking the value of the whole operation to €50 million.

However, there were commissions involved for the 36-year-old superstar’s agent, Pini Zahavi, and if recent reports are to be believed, Barcelona managed to narrowly avoid being scammed during the operation.

Attempted fraud

Indeed, according to SER (h/t SPORT), during the time of the operation, Barcelona were contacted via email by an account using the name of Pini Zahavi, Lewandowski’s current agent.

The email requested that the Catalan club transfer part of the commission for this signing to a Bank of Cyprus account, which was not at all associated with the agent.

According to the report, the email dated July 29, 2022, revealed that the alleged scammer contacted the Blaugrana club providing bank details and an account holder for the transfer.

Barcelona signed Lewandowski in 2022. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Barcelona, believing it was communicating with the legitimate representative, proceeded with the transaction.

However, thankfully for the Blaugrana, the Bank of Cyprus halted the transaction due to its suspicious nature and upon discovering that the receiving account had been open for less than a month.

In this way, Barcelona were saved from paying a scammer posing to be associated with Zahavi.

Lewandowski in top form

Lewandowski is now in his third season as a Barcelona player. He has started the current campaign in excellent form, scoring 12 goals in 11 official matches.

This season will be crucial in determining whether his contract will be extended for an extra year. According to initial agreements, if certain objectives related to games played are met, his contract will automatically be extended for one more season.

While both parties will need to decide, all signs point to Lewandowski continuing his career in the Blaugrana colours.