Robert Lewandowski believes playing under Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich represented the ideal preparation for his move to Barcelona, as he compared Blaugrana boss Xavi to his former coach.

Guardiola was one year into a three-season tenure with the Bavarian giants when Lewandowski joined from rivals Borussia Dortmund in 2014, with the striker scoring 67 goals in 100 appearances under him in all competitions. 

Having ended his Bayern career with 344 goals in all competitions, Lewandowski – one of several new faces at Camp Nou – scored for the first time in Barca colours three minutes into Sunday's 6-0 friendly thrashing of Pumas UNAM.

As Xavi looks to lead Barca to a title challenge in his first full season at the helm, Lewandowski identified similarities between with Manchester City manager Guardiola.

"Guardiola's philosophy and his style of caring for and managing the team, I think, basically was Barca at Bayern Munich," Lewandowski told Sport.

"Xavi is very similar to Guardiola. They were both 'sixes', they worked together. They think about football in the same way.

"With that memory in mind, Barca was the only option for me, and it was a great preparation when I was there.

"I didn't talk to Guardiola before signing. But when I was with him at Bayern, it was like a great preparation to get to Barca one day. 

"All the staff were Spanish, there were eight Spanish players. During that period, I had a very good relationship with Thiago [Alcantara] and Javi Martinez. Both of them congratulated me when I signed for Barca."

Lewandowski made his desire to leave Bayern clear on several occasions before finalising a move to Camp Nou and has reiterated his €45million transfer was primarily motivated by a wish to test himself in Spain.

"I feel like a small child who enters a huge store of new toys," he said. "What I feel in Barcelona so far is pure happiness and motivation to start this new chapter.

"In Munich, I was missing new challenges. I won many titles and I recognise that I felt less and less intensity. I needed another challenge, a boost, a change of environment.

"I've always wanted to play in LaLiga, live in Spain, see what life is like here. Twelve years in Germany is a long time. 

"I achieved everything there. I didn't want to stand in front of the mirror in 12 years and say to myself: 'Why haven't you tried?' There would be a lot of unanswered questions."

Lewandowski will hope to make his competitive Barcelona debut when they host Rayo Vallecano in their LaLiga opener on Saturday, with president Joan Laporta confident the Blaugrana will be able to register their new arrivals despite ongoing financial concerns.

Pedri described playing with Robert Lewandowski as a "luxury" after both players starred in Barcelona's 6-0 demolition of Pumas UNAM in the Joan Gamper trophy on Sunday.

The Blaugrana ran riot in their traditional Camp Nou curtain-raiser, with goals from Pedri (two), Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frenkie de Jong condemning the Mexican side to a crushing loss.

Barca took just 20 minutes to establish a 4-0 lead as Pedri scored twice after laying on new signing Lewandowski's opener, with the Poland striker returning the favour to tee up the skilful midfielder's second strike.

Lewandowski – who scored 50 goals in all competitions during his final season with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich last term – was named as man of the match, leading Pedri to shower him with praise. 

"It was important for us to win in front of our fans and we have achieved it by playing a good game," the midfielder said.

"The coach asks us all to reach the top and that we score goals, and I hope it continues like this. We've had a good pre-season and we wanted to start scoring soon.

"It is a luxury to play with Lewandowski, I really enjoy seeing how he finishes and how he links up.

"The president [Joan Laporta] and everyone have done a great job, and we will fight until May for it to be a very beautiful year for us all."

With Lewandowski joining Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde and Raphinha in moving to Camp Nou ahead of the 2022-23 season, hopes are high that Barca can challenge for silverware – even if speculation persists that they may be unable to register their newcomers.

For Xavi, the performance against Pumas – for whom Barca legend Dani Alves featured – represented the standard the Catalan giants must hit in every match.

"Everything went well tonight, I'm very happy with the good game and for the fans, who have been excited. This is the way," Xavi declared.

"We are in a good dynamic of play and results, but we have to continue working for this to work. The sensations are good, yes, but there is no need to lower the pace or the intensity during the 90 minutes.

"Today it is understood that we relaxed a bit because we were 4-0 very early and it was a friendly, but in official competition you cannot lower your guard."

Barca begin their LaLiga campaign at home to Rayo Vallecano next Saturday.

Sadio Mane scored his first Bundesliga goal as Bayern Munich opened the new campaign with a stunning 6-1 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Europa League winners Frankfurt seemed a tricky first opponent for the champions, but Julian Nagelsmann's side swept them aside in sensational style.

Having defeated RB Leipzig 5-3 in the DFL-Supercup in their first competitive match after Robert Lewandowski's departure last week, Bayern were five up by half-time on Friday – Joshua Kimmich, Benjamin Pavard, Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry joining Mane on the scoresheet.

Manuel Neuer's sloppiness gifted Randal Kolo Muani a consolation, yet it was a minor blip in a supreme Bayern display, and Musiala capped things off with his second late on.

Bayern had full control by the 10th minute. Kimmich fooled Kevin Trapp with a long-range free-kick that clipped in off the right-hand upright, before Pavard lashed in his second goal in as many games.

Juventus-linked Filip Kostic teed up a golden chance for Frankfurt to drag themselves back into contention, only for Tuta to head against the woodwork, which then denied Bayern a third after Gnabry's poor pass sold Thomas Muller short in front of goal.

Another glorious Eintracht chance went begging due to Jesper Lindstrom's profligacy, but Bayern had their third after Trapp had parried Musiala's effort onto the crossbar – Mane stooping low to head in Gnabry's cross.

Mane turned architect for Bayern's fourth six minutes later, drawing out the Frankfurt defence and finding Muller, who squared for Musiala, and it was five before half-time when Gnabry squeezed home.

Kristijan Jakic, one of three half-time Frankfurt substitutes, thought he had pulled a goal back in the 56th minute, yet it was disallowed for offside.

Neuer hardly covered himself in glory in that incident, and Bayern's captain was entirely at fault eight minutes later when he was bundled off the ball by Kolo Muani.

Musiala had the final say, though, tucking in after Leroy Sane's exquisite pass to add further gloss to a statement win.

What does it mean? No Lewy, no problem

Bayern have now gone unbeaten in their opening league fixture for 11 straight seasons – they went on to win the title in each of the previous 10.

Although Bayern have lost more times away to Frankfurt than they have any other team (23), they were in top gear from the off, and there was never any danger of another defeat.

Lewandowski may have gone, but Bayern's attack – spearheaded by Mane and the evergreen Muller, who matched Hans Georg Schwarzenbeck's 416 Bundesliga outings for Bayern (the second-most among outfield players) and finished with two assists – looks scintillating. 

Magical Mane off to a flyer

In five of his six Premier League campaigns for Liverpool, Mane scored in his first away game of the season, including on his Reds debut in a 4-3 win at Arsenal in August 2016.

The Senegal forward always seemed likely to start fast in Germany, and he has done just that. He is the first player to score in his maiden Bundesliga away game for Bayern since Joshua Zirkzee did so against Freiburg in December 2019, while Mario Mandzukic, in 2012, was the last Bayern player to score in his first two appearances for the club in all competitions.

Few home comforts for Frankfurt

Friday's game was the ninth example of an away team scoring five before half-time in Bundesliga history, and Bayern are responsible for four of those occasions.

But in truth, they were helped by a woeful defensive display from their hosts. Frankfurt picked up just 19 points at home (W4 D7 L6) last season, bettering only the two relegated sides in Arminia Bielefeld and Greuther Furth, and Oliver Glasner must strike a better balance.

What's next?

Bayern host Wolfsburg in their second Bundesliga game of the season, while Frankfurt travel to Helsinki for the small matter of facing Champions League winners Real Madrid in the Super Cup.

Joan Laporta is confident Barcelona will be able to register all of their new signings after they "complied with everything" required by LaLiga.

Robert Lewandowski was presented as a Barca player at Camp Nou on Friday after the Poland captain was signed from Bayern Munich for a fee that could reportedly rise to €50million.

The Catalan giants have also splashed out on Raphinha and Jules Kounde, while Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen arrived as free agents and Ousmane Dembele signed a new deal.

Barca were in dire straits a year ago, with Lionel Messi leaving the club as they could not afford to keep the legendary Argentina skipper due to a financial crisis at Camp Nou.

There has been talk that LaLiga may not give the green light to register Barca's new recruits due to limits on spending.

Blaugrana president Laporta does not envisage any issues after the club signed up to a hugely lucrative sponsorship deal with Spotify, and sold a percentage of LaLiga broadcast rights, merchandising rights and a stake in Barca Studios.

Laporta said in a media conference after Lewandowski was paraded on the pitch: "We have worked to be able to register all the players that we have incorporated.

"We have worked hard and well to meet the requirements that are needed for the registrations. If any further operation is needed, we will do it, but the documentation has been presented. It's a decision that LaLiga must make. We have complied with everything they require and we are confident that they will be able to sign up."

He added: "The second sale of Barca Studios was approved because we had foreseen it. As a precaution and in anticipation of divergence in some interpretations, we have done it. To have the foresight.

"We had already planned to do the fourth lever, if it also serves to consolidate registrations better. Barca has entered these two months and operations worth 868million euros. We have positive funds, a healthy balance sheet and results also because we have made profits.

"We have made a great effort, we have had to carry out operations to sell some assets, always in a controlled manner."

Laporta revealed that Lewandowski had to be assured his move to Barcelona would not collapse.

"When an agreement was reached with Bayern, we had a series of talks," he said.

"Robert and his agent were concerned about whether we could register him, but I gave them comfort and told them that if we had to register one Robert would be the first. There were other clubs that offered more money and more salary to the player."

Prolific striker Lewandowski has taken the number nine shirt that Memphis Depay wore last year, but Laporta does not feel Barca have been disrespectful to the Netherlands international.

He said: "The number nine thing was a club decision. For reasons that interest the club, for image and publicity reasons. We have considered an appropriate decision and we have made it with all respect for Memphis."

Robert Lewandowski's departure leaves a big void for Bayern Munich to fill, yet Julian Nagelsmann has full confidence his squad is stronger now than it was last season.

Bayern sold star striker Lewandowski, who scored 50 goals across all competitions last season, to Barcelona last month.

Lewandowski had refused to sign a new contract with the Bundesliga champions, who made the reluctant decision to cash in on the 33-year-old.

Sadio Mane had already arrived from Liverpool as Lewandowski's de facto replacement, with Bayern chief executive Oliver Khan having confirmed the club do not plan to sign another senior forward this transfer window.

Bayern have also brought in defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus, as well as Noussair Mazraoui and Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax and teenage attacker Mathys Tel from Rennes.

Niklas Sule, Corentin Tolisso, Marc Roca, Omar Richards and Chris Richards are members of the first-team squad to have also left alongside Lewandowski, but Nagelsmann is confident his side have improved overall.

"I'm looking forward to the start with great anticipation I tend to put pressure on myself," Nagelsmann told a news conference ahead of Bayern's Bundesliga opener against Eintracht Frankfurt.

"I read very little. It's normal for Bayern Munich that we always strive for the highest. We lost a striker who scored more than 50 goals, we have to compensate for that.

"I think that's okay, our squad has improved. I know we're going to do well. The lads are very motivated."

Asked if more players might yet arrive, Nagelsmann said: "When the season starts, as a coach you focus on the players that are there and on preparing [for] the opponents.

"As a coach you have to do justice to every player in the squad. I don't have any expectations one way or the other.

"I'm very happy with the squad, and I'll see what happens between now and August 31."

As for Bayern's goals this season, Nagelsmann is aiming to improve on their trophy haul. A 10th straight Bundesliga title arrived last term, but they exited the DFB-Pokal early on and lost to Villarreal in the Champions League quarter-finals.

"My first championship was nice. The club is longing for more," Nagelsmann said. "The goal will be to come to Berlin and win the [DFB-Pokal] trophy. We also want to get further in the Champions League.

"It always depends on how lucky we are at the draw and the games. I would also like to take a photo with more titles in it. Maybe we can do that after this season."

Death, taxes and Bayern Munich winning the Bundesliga title.

It is slightly paraphrasing the old idiom to say these are the only three things certain in life.

Such is the optimism of football fandom, though, the question always arises ahead of the new campaign whether this year will be the one where someone steps up and takes Bayern's throne.

The 2021-22 season saw the Bavarian giants claim their 10th Bundesliga title in a row, with Julian Nagelsmann leading Bayern to the championship by eight points in his first season at the Allianz Arena.

Since Jurgen Klopp's exciting Borussia Dortmund side of 2011-12, no team has been able to halt the relentless Bayern dominance of German football.

In fact, in the last decade, only the 2018-19 campaign saw anyone finish closer than the eight points Dortmund were behind last season, when BVB were just two points shy of their Der Klassiker rivals.

How can anyone seriously make the argument that their run will halt any time soon then? Well, let Stats Perform have a go as we take a look at some of the reasons why Bayern might struggle to maintain their stranglehold in 2022-23.

Loss of Lewy means new Bayern approach

Bayern's signing of Robert Lewandowski from Dortmund in 2014 was one of the catalysts for their concerted period of dominance.

However, after eight years of service and 238 goals in 253 Bundesliga games for Bayern, the Poland striker wanted to move on and eventually sealed a transfer to Barcelona.

His goals-per-game ratio in the German top flight of 0.94 bested even the great Gerd Muller (0.85), and his loss was certainly not one Bayern had planned for, with the club initially indicating they expected him to honour the final year of his contract, before finally relenting.

Despite being 33 years old, Lewandowski's impact had not waned at all, with him scoring 50 goals in all club competitions last season, making it seven consecutive seasons with at least 40 goals to his name.

Nagelsmann has insisted his team will evolve in Lewandowski's absence, though, and the signing of Sadio Mane appears to suggest that.

After Lewandowski's sale was confirmed, Nagelsmann told BR24: "I'm not worried right now, we are very well-equipped offensively and I'm still spoiled for choice. We have a possibility of building FC Bayern without a striker that can reliably score 40 goals."

With 120 goals in all competitions for Liverpool, Mane averaged a goal every 178.3 minutes for the Reds – a return of one in slightly under two matches. He also assisted 37 goals, meaning he was directly involved in a goal every 137 minutes.

In the Premier League, only Harry Kane (134), former team-mate Mohamed Salah (118) and Leicester City's Jamie Vardy (104) scored more goals than Mane (90) over the course of his Liverpool career.

His scoring rate has never been close to that of Lewandowski, though he has played a significant amount of his career on the left of a front three rather than through the middle, where he ended last season for Liverpool and is expected to mostly play at Bayern.

That means the likes of Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman, Jamal Musiala and Thomas Muller will need to step up and contribute more goals, while it will be interesting to see if 17-year-old striker Mathys Tel will feature much in his first season after signing from Rennes.

The club has also added Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui from Ajax, while former Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt has arrived from Juventus to replace the outgoing Niklas Sule, who chose to swap Munich for Dortmund when his contract expired.

Will Dortmund finally solve flakiness issue?

Marco Rose looked to be a very astute appointment in 2021, but the former Borussia Monchengladbach boss just did not work out at Dortmund.

Rose has been replaced by Edin Terzic, who enjoyed a spell as caretaker boss in the second half of the 2020-21 campaign, winning the DFB-Pokal.

Terzic now has the reins permanently and has two big jobs on his hands.

The first is fixing a leaky defence, which conceded 52 goals in the Bundesliga last season, more than any other team to finish in the top eight, and only one goal fewer than relegated Arminia Bielefeld.

The club may have addressed the issue in the transfer market as they have essentially procured the German national team's central defence by adding Sule from Bayern on a free transfer and the highly rated Nico Schlotterbeck from Freiburg.

Schlotterbeck won 69 per cent of his duels in the Bundesliga last season, the joint-most of all players who contested at least 100 duels, while Sule was third with 68 per cent.

Another issue that needed addressing was similar to Bayern's Lewandowski issue, with Erling Haaland having departed for Manchester City.

The Norwegian scored 86 goals in 89 appearances at Dortmund, including 22 of their 85 league goals last season, though he was only able to feature in 24 games due to injury.

Sebastien Haller was signed to replace Haaland but will unfortunately miss the first few months of the campaign after undergoing surgery for a testicular tumour.

The addition of exciting young talent Karim Adeyemi from Salzburg will give them a dynamic in attack they have missed since selling Jadon Sancho to Manchester United, while in Haller's absence it will be interesting to see if Youssoufa Moukoko, still just 17-years-old, can add to the five Bundesliga goals he already has to his name.

Having also signed defensive midfielder Salih Ozcan from Cologne to provide some steel alongside Jude Bellingham, who it appears they will be keeping hold of for another season at least, the balance of a frequently wobbly side could be there for Terzic to build some momentum.

Best of the rest

Bayer Leverkusen enjoyed a strong campaign last season and have replaced Lucas Alario with promising Czech striker Adam Hlozek.

They also appear to have fought off interest in Moussa Diaby so it would not be a surprise to see them go well again, but with Champions League football to contend with, questions remain whether they have the depth of squad to excel on all fronts.

RB Leipzig will hope to provide a challenge and have also kept hold of their star player in Christopher Nkunku, though losing Tyler Adams and Nordi Mukiele will be a blow, while Eintracht Frankfurt will want to build on last season's Europa League success.

It would be churlish to write Bayern off, of course. They go into the season as heavy favourites and rightly so.

Mane might not have the same goalscoring output as Lewandowski, but football has proven time and again that having one player who scores lots of goals is not the only way to be successful.

The African Football Player of the Year has the chance to be the face of the new Bayern, where everyone will be expected to chip in and Nagelsmann can truly cement his ideas on the team.

However, while Bayern have been somewhat forced into a new era, Dortmund appear to have reached theirs more by design and if everything clicks early on for Terzic, an exciting title race could develop.

After all, the only thing that is certain about football is that nothing is certain.

Bayern Munich chief executive Oliver Kahn has ruled out a move for another striker, despite the sale of Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona.

The Bundesliga champions have been linked with moves for Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane in recent weeks, although the club have distanced themselves from such rumours.

Lewandowski scored 50 goals in all competitions last season but made it clear he wanted a new challenge in Spain and secured a move to Barca in mid-July.

Speaking after Bayern's 5-3 DFL-Supercup victory against RB Leipzig, Kahn said there was "no discussion" about bringing in another number nine.

"That was strong," he said of the performance to BILD. "You could see how many opportunities we had going forward, how many different formations we had, how surprising we can be, how many good footballers are there, how much speed we can bring into the game with many, many extremely fast players.

"It's the case that we still have options in the current team. [Joshua] Zirkzee is there, [Eric] Choupo-Moting is there, then the young Mathys Tel, who is training incredibly well at the moment. We would also have opportunities there."

Five different players found the net for Julian Nagelsmann's side against Leipzig, including new arrival Sadio Mane, and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic was pleased to see the variety that Bayern displayed.

"You could see that we are extremely dangerous, that we have many fast and dangerous players," he told BILD. "That's the idea.

"Of course, it's a different way of playing. If the boys do what we envision, I think we can spread the goals on many shoulders."

While Salihamidzic stopped short of also ruling out a new striker arriving at the Allianz Arena, he did hint that the club's incomings may be done for this transfer window, adding: "The transfer market runs until August 31, but usually we have completed our planning by then."

Barcelona coach Xavi is confident Robert Lewandowski will soon find his rhythm at the club, having failed to find the net in pre-season.

The Poland international is one of Barcelona's marquee additions for the 2022-23 season, joining from Bayern Munich, and arrives with an established reputation as one of Europe's deadliest finishers.

Goals have not come in preparation for the new season, but Xavi is not concerned and believes there have been some encouraging signs already.

"The positive is that he has had all those opportunities, I am sure he will mark them," he said following Barcelona's win against the New York Red Bulls.

"In training, they go in; today, they have not gone in. I am convinced that they will go in, I trust him. 

"It happened with Luis Suarez, Ferran [Torres] last year. He's going to have chances to score; tonight he's had them, that's the positive part."

There could yet be further transfer business at Camp Nou, as Frenkie de Jong continues to be of interest to Manchester United.

Xavi has insisted playing De Jong at centre-back in a previous friendly was not a "signal" he was to leave, although the coach has almost finalised plans for his first-team squad.

"I don't know if there will be more [signings], it all depends on the financial fair play and the finances," Xavi said. "There will be exits, and I've been clear about that.

"I think I'm 99 per cent sure about [the final squad list], and most players know, too. We have spoken to the players whose future we've decided."

Robert Lewandowski accused Bayern Munich of making up "bulls***" about him in an attempt to keep the fan base onside ahead of his move to Barcelona. 

Barca paid an initial €45million to sign Lewandowski from Bayern, where he had one year left on his contract and had made his desire to leave clear after a breakdown in talks over an extension. 

Lewandowski denied wanting out because of the Bundesliga champions' reported interest in Erling Haaland, who ended up swapping Borussia Dortmund for Manchester City. 

While he was unwilling to give the full details, he hit out at his former club for painting what he feels was an inaccurate portrait of the situation. 

"No, that was nothing to do with Erling," he told ESPN FC. "I am the guy who even if something's not good for me, truth is more important.

"I don't want to speak about what happened exactly. But if the question is if the decision to move was because of him, no, I didn't see the problem if he joined Bayern Munich. 

"But some people don't tell me the truth, [they] say something different. And for me, it was always important to be clear, to stay true, and maybe for a few people that was the problem. 

"In the end, I know that something doesn't work well with my person... and I feel that maybe it's a good time to move out of Bayern Munich and join Barcelona. 

"I had a very good relationship with my team-mates, with the staff, with the coach, and these are all things I'm going to miss because I spent a beautiful time there. 

"We were not only friends from the pitch but also something more. But in the end this chapter is over, and I open a new chapter in my life and a new chapter in my career. 

"So I feel that I'm in the right position, right place. So everything that's happened in the last few weeks before I left Bayern Munich, that was also of course a lot of politics. 

"The club tried to find an argument [for] why they can sell me to another club because before it was difficult to explain maybe to the fans. I had to accept that, even though it was a lot of bulls***, a lot of s*** said about me. 

"[It was] not true, but in the end I knew that the fans, even in this period, still support me a lot." 

Former Bayern Munich midfielder Dietmar Hamann has declared Robert Lewandowski did the club a "huge favour" by making it clear he wanted to join Barcelona.

The Poland international this month completed a €50million move to the Catalan giants, bringing an end to his trophy-laden stint in Germany.

Bayern were initially adamant that Lewandowski would not be allowed to leave, despite being in the final year of his contract, but the prolific striker was determined to move to Barca.

The 34-year-old eventually got his wish and Hamann believes Lewandowski helped the Bundesliga champions get a great deal when they sold him due to the way he went about his business with a "distasteful" approach.

"I think they are happy that he has gone. This whirlwind of signings began and he made some statements," he told Sky Germany.

"It has to be said that Bayern behaved very well and very professionally. Lewandowski did [Bayern] a huge favour with his statements.

"Without them, [Bayern] probably never would have been able to get the price that they obtained. As distasteful as his exit was, Lewandowski did Bayern a huge favour."

Lewandowski this week made his Barca debut in a pre-season victory over Real Madrid in Las Vegas.

Xavi's side begin the new LaLiga season at home to Rayo Vallecano on August 13.

Robert Lewandowski claims "no one remembers" Bayern Munich's 8-2 victory against his new side Barcelona in the 2020 Champions League quarter-final.

The Poland international played in that game for the German giants, and even scored Bayern's sixth goal before Philippe Coutinho, on loan from Barcelona at the time, added two more late on to rub salt in the wounds.

After embarrassing Barcelona, Bayern went on to become European champions for a sixth time, with a Kingsley Coman winner enough to overcome French side Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the final.

The 8-2 thrashing meant Bayern became the first team ever to score five or more goals against Barcelona in a European Cup or Champions League match.

Lewandowski was quick to discount the importance of that game when questioned about it this week, telling reporters: "No one remembers that anymore.

"Football isn't about what you've done in the past, it's about what you're doing now."

He also referenced the 2013 Champions League, in which he scored four for his former club Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid in a semi-final first leg.

Lewandowski added: "It's been a long time since we [Dortmund] scored four goals against Real Madrid, it's a long time ago."

Robert Lewandowski is confident Barcelona will enjoy a better campaign to last season after he made his pre-season debut.

The Poland international secured a move from Bayern Munich to Camp Nou earlier this month, ending one of the summer's longest-running transfer sagas.

Despite his prolific form over the past two seasons - he won the European Golden Shoe in both campaigns - Lewandowski did not find the net in his first game, a friendly against Real Madrid.

But with fellow new recruit Raphinha delivering a moment of magic with his finish to beat Madrid 1-0 in Nevada, the forward certainly feels the future is bright.

"This season will be better than the previous ones, for sure," he stated. "If you play for Barcelona, you always think about winning titles.

"The Champions League is the most striking [prize]. But we have to go step-by-step. Our potential and quality are high, [but] we have to progress during the season to be at the top."

Lewandowski's protracted desire to leave Bayern bred a degree of contempt between player and club, with a public battle played out in the media over his future.

But settled in with Barcelona amid their tour of the United States, the veteran star is already feeling at home, and hopes that comfort will breed success during his stay.

"From the first day, I [felt] very good," he added. "I see that everyone helps me and gives me support. That means a lot to me. I am here to do my best, show my quality and [give] good performances."

On Raphinha, also the successful target of another prolonged transfer saga in his arrival from Leeds, Lewandowski already feels he has struck up a connection.

"We see that he is a great player, with great quality," he said of the Brazil star. "There is a lot of connection. I have seen young players with a lot of potential. With the language of football, it is easier to adapt."

Xavi acknowledged a Barcelona return for Lionel Messi is "impossible" at present but refused to rule out a reunion in future, as he rejected comparisons between himself and two legendary Blaugrana coaches.

Messi's 21-year association with Barcelona came to an end last August when he joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer amid the Catalan club's financial woes.

However, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's six league goals during his debut campaign in Paris represented his worst such tally since he netted the same amount in LaLiga as an 18-year-old in 2005-06.

Messi has just one year remaining on his contract in the French capital – though an option exists for a further 12 months with PSG – and Barcelona president Joan Laporta said on Sunday he did not believe the Argentine's Barca story was over.

His former team-mate and current Barcelona coach Xavi, however, told a news conference such a move was unfeasible, at least for now. 

"He has a contract and it's impossible right now," Xavi said, looking ahead to Barca's friendly with Juventus in Dallas on Tuesday.

"Messi is the best footballer in the world and in history. President Laporta already said that Messi's story with Barca is not over, but now is not the time to talk about it."

On a personal level, Xavi has enjoyed success since returning to Barcelona as head coach last November, leading the side to a second-placed league finish after they had languished in ninth under predecessor Ronald Koeman.

Barca are now expected to challenge for silverware after acquiring the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, but Xavi insists he does not seek comparisons with legendary Blaugrana bosses Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff. 

"I don't have the idea of equalling Pep, what I want is for Barca to win," he added.

"It's not a question of ego, I don't want to beat Pep or Johan or anyone. On the contrary, I have nurtured myself from them, I am a student of theirs. 

"My dream is to return Barca to the top of the world."

Despite their perilous financial situation, Barcelona have recruited heavily throughout the transfer window, and with Sevilla and France defender Jules Kounde reportedly also close to joining, their spending does not look likely to stop any time soon.

And Xavi believes the capture of Lewandowski demonstrates the lure of the Catalan giants, adding: "It's not for me, it's for the club. What I do is speak clearly with the players. 

"Everything adds up, but I would say that the club is the one that has strength, its greatness is a magnet for footballers. 

"People are excited to play at Barca, the fact that players of the stature of Lewandowski want to come proves it."

Newcastle United are planning a move for out-of-favour Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Julian Draxler, with the Germany international's price tag believed to be in the range of £25million (€29.5m).

Draxler, 28, has spent the past six seasons with the French giants, but his last campaign was mostly from a bench role, with 13 of his 18 Ligue 1 appearances coming as a substitute.

He also had two separate injuries that forced him to miss over a month each time, but with 58 senior caps for Germany and a World Cup right around the corner, he could be a savvy purchase for a club desperate for a marquee signing.

TOP STORY – NEWCASTLE ENQUIRE ABOUT VERY AVAILABLE DRAXLER

According to French publication Le 10 Sport, Draxler is on Paris Saint-Germain director of football Luis Campos' "blacklist" of players who have no future at the club.

The report says he has been asked to find a way out, and with a relatively low price tag – around half the £40m demanded by Lyon in Newcastle's reported pursuit of Lucas Paqueta – the stars could be aligning for the Magpies to land an established international on a cheaper deal.

Draxler was left out of PSG's pre-season squad for the recent tour of Japan, indicating he already has one foot out the door, but it remains to be seen if Newcastle will be his landing spot.

ROUND-UP

– Chelsea are reportedly willing to part ways with Timo Werner, with Foot Mercato claiming the forward was included in an offer to former club RB Leipzig  in exchange for defender Nordi Mukiele, who appears to be PSG-bound.

– Sport believes Chelsea will block Barcelona moves for Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso due to the Spanish club's chase of Blues target Jules Kounde.

– The Guardian is reporting that Gianluca Scamacca will have his medical this week before confirming a £35.5m move from Sassuolo to West Ham.

– According to Calciomercato, Milan have increased their bid for Club Brugge midfielder Charles de Ketelaere to €32m, and are also trying to secure a move for Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech.

– Barcelona have told Memphis Depay to find a new club after Robert Lewandowski's arrival, according to AS.

Robert Lewandowski has made a strong first impression at Barcelona, with manager Xavi calling him "an unbelievable signing".

Lewandwoski made his first appearance for his new club in their 1-0 friendly win against Real Madrid on Saturday, starting up top before being subbed off at half-time.

The 2021 Ballon d'Or runner-up is coming off seven consecutive seasons of at least 40 goals in club competition, with Barcelona hoping he is still at the peak of his powers despite turning 34 years old next month.

Speaking to the media about the club's new front-man, Xavi had nothing but praise.

"[Lewandowski] has adapted really well," he said. "He's very humble – he's won almost everything in the world of football. 

"He has the humility to work hard for the team, and for us he's an unbelievable signing. So really good, really happy to have Robert in the team, and [against Madrid] he adapted really well. 

"He controlled the ball when Madrid pressed high, he understood really well when it was his moment to control and play for the attacking midfielders or for the defensive midfielder. 

"He went deep many times, so we are talking about the top player in the world of football."