Barcelona's three-step plan to sign Xavi's top target revealed

Barcelona have made no secret of their desire bring in top quality signings to strengthen their squad ahead of next season. The Catalan giants struggled to a second place finish in La Liga, and were well off the pace set by arch rivals and 2021-22 champions Real Madrid.

The Catalan club's president Joan Laporta is keen to bring in a marquee signing to show Barcelona's resurgence in the transfer market. The Barcelona chief has made Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski the club's top target, but must overcome a number of obstacles in order to bring the deal to fruition.

Barcelona settled for free transfers and loan deals last summer before spending big in January to sign Ferran Torres from Manchester City. Xavi Hernandez is keen to sign a prolific number nine this summer, and Laporta is wants to deliver Lewandowski.

According to Marca, Barcelona have to complete three steps to ensure the Polish hitman arrives at the Camp Nou. The first is to convince Lewandowski to leave Bayern, which they have succeeded in after the Pole confirmed that he will not be signing a new deal with the Bavarian giants.

Lewandowski has spent the last eight years with the German Bundesliga giants, and now has one year remaining on his current deal. Barcelona are keen to take him to the Camp Nou by taking advantage of his desire to leave and Laporta's close friendship with his agent Pini Zahavi.

However, they have two other major issues to tackle before they can even get Bayern to the negotiating table. The first is to raise the funds necessary to sign the Poland international, who is expected to cost at the least €40 million despite being in the final year of his contract.

Laporta is looking to sell two of Barcelona's entities - BLM and Barca Estudios - to raise some funds. Talks are still ongoing with no agreement in place at the moment. The club are also in negotiations with CVC Capital about taking over a small percentage of the club's television rights.

The CVC deal is being touted as the most important for the moment, as it also involves La Liga and could generate up to €40 million in revenue. Any revenue generated will go towards helping Barcelona escape the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules that they are currently fighting.

The FFP is the next obstacle facing the club with Barcelona needing to majorly slash their over inflated wage bill. The La Liga giants have put a number of first-team players up for sale in order to raise funds and aid Xavi's summer transfer plans.

The La Liga have imposed a 1/3 rule on Barcelona where they can invest €1 of every €3 made in the transfer market. Philippe Coutinho's recent sale to Aston Villa has seen their wage bill drop by €40 million, which frees up around €13 million for transfers.

Barcelona have a long way to go to build enough funds to attempt a move for Lewandowski. Once the funds are in place, the Catalan outfit are expected to approach Bayern with a formal offer with recent reports claiming that an initial offer of €32 million will be made for Europe's top scorer.