Revealed: How Barcelona were conned out of €1m by a fraudster in deal to sign Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich

According to Cadena SER, a con-man pretending to be Lewandowski’s agent, Pini Zahavi, requested Barca pay him €1m in commissions back in 2022. The La Liga team obliged and deposited the funds in a Cypriot bank account. The Compliance department of the bank informed La Liga of the unusual activity as the account never had a prior banking history. They raised the issue with the actual Zahavi, who explained it was not him asking for the fee. The bank stopped the transfer and Barca got their money back.

• FC Barcelona

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  This tale shows the importance of doing your due diligence when dealing with football transfers. Ultimately, Lewandowski’s £42.6m ($55.4m) move from Bayern in 2022 has been a great success for the Catalan outfit, with the Polish international scoring 71 goals in 106 matches.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Since swapping the German giants for the La Liga team more than two years ago, the 36-year-old former Borussia Dortmund star has helped Barca win the La Liga title in 2023 and the Supercopa de Espana that same year.

• Getty Images Sport

  WHAT NEXT?

  Lewandowski’s Barcelona team, who sit top of La Liga after nine matches, next host mid-table Sevilla on Sunday night, before the Pole will face his old club Bayern in the Champions League next Wednesday.