Lewandowski Could Inherit Messi's Role at Barcelona as Catalans Launch Bid to Bring Him to Camp Nou

Ever since Lionel Messi left for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last summer, Barcelona have been in desperate search of a world class striker. While the Catalans have already signed the likes of Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, they want to bring a big name to Camp Nou with Robert Lewandowski on top of their list.

Bayern Munich superstar Robert Lewandowski could inherit Lionel Messi's role at Barcelona, with the former La Liga champions putting forward such a proposal in their bid to bring the Polish captain to Catalonia, Spanish outlet Diario Sport reported.

According to the publication, Barca's top management, including manager Xavi Hernandez has told the Bayern hitman that he would not only lead their attack, but also get a leadership role in the side.

The Blaugrana have intensified their efforts to secure the 33-year-old football star's services after Lewandowski admitted to a Polish broadcaster recently that he "won't sign a new deal" with the reigning Bundesliga champions.

One of his home country's television channels, TVP Sport, even announced that the talismanic striker was heading to Spain, with Barca in the driver's seat to seal a deal with him.

Last week, Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn dismissed suggestions that the club was on the verge of splitting with their star man.

Kahn's response came after former players Lothar Matthaus and Stefan Effenberg slammed the club for not initiating talks with the player's agent to extend Lewandowski's stay at the Allianz Arena beyond 2023, when his current contract expires.

"Currently we're in contact with him. We are talking. We want him to stay for as long as possible", Kahn had said in an interview with Germany's Sport 1 TV channel during the weekend.

As things currently stand, talks over a new contract between the club and Lewandowski have come to an impasse, with neither side willing to break the deadlock on the subject.

While the Pole wants a long-term contract to secure his future in the twilight of his career, Bayern are not keen on handing him such a deal.

If the Bundesliga giants and Lewandowski fail to reach an agreement in the months to come, then FIFA's Men's Player of the Year could exit Munich and join any other club.

His departure, though, would be a huge setback for Bayern, considering he has been their top scorer by a fair margin for some years now and the void he would leave at the club would be extremely hard to fill.

Since joining Bayern from Borussia Dortmund in 2014, Lewandowski has been a prolific scorer, hitting the back of the net 341 times in 225 games.

He has even broken all-time club-level records in Germany, including Gerd Muller's 49-year record of scoring the most goals in a single season last year.

In the current campaign, the Warsaw-born player is Bayern's leading scorer too, having scored a super impressive 47 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions.