Bayern Munich will not lose Lewandowski transfer bonuses by sending FC Barcelona to the Europa League

When Robert Lewandowski moved from Bayern Munich to FC Barcelona this summer, the transfer fee was reported as €45m upfront plus an additional €5m in bonuses. According to Bild, those bonuses have nothing to do with the player’s performance in the Champions League, a confirmation that will come as a relief to Bayern fans as Barca don’t seem to be long for this competition anyway.

If Inter Milan beat Viktoria Plzen at the San Siro on Wednesday, Barca are mathematically eliminated from the Champions League with no way to make a comeback. This is because of their inferior head-to-head record against the Nerazzurri, which is the first tiebreaker in case of a points-tie in the group stage. If Inter manage to lose or draw, Barca will still need a win vs Bayern at the Camp Nou to stay alive in the competition. Anything less will see them eliminated.

So, there is a small chance that Bayern Munich could punt Barca into the Europa League for a second season running. If it happens, the bonuses from Lewandowski’s contract will not be in jeopardy. The current payments are structured in a way that they’re extremely easy to achieve and depend solely on the number of goals Lewandowski scores, not Barca’s success. Given how well he’s started life in Spain so far, you can assume that Bayern will get the full €50m eventually — provided Barca’s finances can survive the onslaught.

Interested in an in-depth preview of the game? Then why not check out the latest episode of our podcast? We talk about the emergence of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting as a legitimate striker option, as well as what Barcelona have in store for us. Listen to it below or on Spotify.

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