6 strikers who'd suit Barcelona better than Robert Lewandowski

With each passing week, it's becoming more fathomable that Barcelona really sold their soul (translation: pulled lots of different financial levers and mortgaged their future) to win one La Liga title.

Xavi's men sit third in the standings this season, seven points adrift of league-leaders Real Madrid and Catalan neighbours Girona.

The performances of Robert Lewandowski, who was signed in the summer of 2022 and turns 36 later this year, have come under scrutiny, particularly in big games. Strip away his waning scoring and there's little for Barca to work with.

Lewandowski is far from a typical Barcelona number nine. He's not one to get you off your seat unless he's sticking it in the top corner. He lacks the flair of yesteryear's strikers.

Vitor Roque has been drafted in as a long-term replacement, but unfortunately for Barca, there's little room for manoeuvre in trying to find a ready-made Lewandowski alternative now.

You've seen the title, you get where we're going, but let's establish a few ground rules first. Barcelona aren't going to sign a Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Victor Osimhen or Harry Kane, so you can cross them off the list.

Barca barely have a pot to, errr, dispel urine into right now. That's been well-documented. So for a bit more flexibility, assume their finances are just a regular mess as opposed to a catastrophic one. Let's give ourselves a bit of breathing space to at least find a suitable stylistic choice.

Here's the six-man shortlist we at have drawn up after taking these factors into account.

What better way to start this list than with a player who has admitted he is the antithesis to Lewandowski — a striker who struggles to score goals.

«There are things I can't control. I train, I look for, I try, I