Barcelona set budget for number nine signing to replace Robert Lewandowski

Amid plenty of doubt over their spending capacity this summer, Barcelona have set a budget for their pursuit of a number nine this summer. The Catalan giants have been over their salary limit for the past three years, but there is hope that this summer they could move back under their limit. If they do so, they would be able to spend 100% of the money that they save/earn beyond their costs, while currently they can only allocate 60% of those funds to signing and paying new players.

The need for a new number nine has been on the horizon for some time, with Robert Lewandowski now 37 years of age. It has not been ruled out that he could be offered a one-year extension to his contract, but it seems he will be relegated definitively to a secondary role if that is the case. By the same token, the loss of form of Ferran Torres, seems to have put the Catalan off moving forward with the former Manchester City man as their first choice.

🚨 There will be rotations against Sevilla, and Marc Bernal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski are the main candidates to be rested. [@gbsans]

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 12, 2026

Barcelona set €100m budget for forward

According to MD, Barcelona have set a budget of €100m to bring in their next number nine. The Catalan giants will not go above that figure between a fixed fee and variables. A number of names have been linked with the Blaugrana, including most recently Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush and Hoffenheim’s Fisnik Asllani, but no clear path of action has emerged for the time being.

Julian Alvarez deal looks impossible

No forward has been linked to the Blaugrana more than Julian Alvarez, but with the budget set by Barcelona, that deal looks impossible. Atletico Madrid are not interested in selling to Barcelona, and would only consider a sale that doubled their money from the Premier League. Bearing in mind Atletico signed Alvarez for €75m plus €15m in variables, that would put him well beyond Barcelona’s means anyway. The only avenue for Barcelona to bring Alvarez in is for the Argentina international to push for a move to Camp Nou specifically. Even if his non-committal answer on his future was ‘celebrated’ in the Barcelona offices, the current chances of a deal happening are slim.

ที่มา: www.football-espana.net