By George Overhill

1st Jun, 2022 | 5:10pm

Javier Tebas tells Barcelona they can't sign Robert Lewandowski, Leeds United Raphinha sale miles off

The proposed sale of Raphinha from Leeds United to Barcelona looks to be fading fast as they have been told they can’t sign another star.

The Blaugrana have been after the Elland Road attacker for weeks, apparently banking on Premier League relegation massively easing his exit from the club.

But that hasn’t happened and a stasis appears to be developing on potential fee, with no-man’s land in between the two sides a good €30million wide.

In the mean time the Catalan giants appear to have convinced Bayern Munich superstar Robert Lewandowski that his future is at the Camp Nou, with the Polish striker declaring while on international duty that his “era at Bayern is over” (Mail).

According to Relevo journalist Toni Juanmarti the Bundesliga goalscorer is the number one target now, and the financial situation has forced them to prioritise away from the Whites’ Brazilian winger as a result.

Yet, according to Marca, La Liga boss Javier Tebas has emphatically told them they cannot sign Lewandowski without selling considerable assets first.

No wiggle room

There was already a log-jam for Barca with the players they have already signed, Franck Kessié and Andreas Christensen unable to be registered, in an echo of the same issue that his resurfaced repeatedly since last summer.

And while the club apparently haven’t set their sights any lower in going after the 33-year-old Pole, those hopes have been doused in cold water by Tebas.

It stands to reason that if they can’t sign Lewandowski, who while a bigger star than Raphinha is also eight years older and has only a year left on his current contract, they can’t sign Raphinha.

They look to be employing similar tactics in both pursuits of wooing the players and then sitting back and hoping for the best.

While there has not been any sort of bust up at Leeds thanks to the 25-year-old United attacker not actively agitating for the move he apparently wants, there does appear to be one in Bavaria as Bayern CEO Oliver Khan has reacted angrily to his striker’s strident declaration.

There seems to be little in the way of forward planning on the part of Joan Laporta and Barca, as they have continued signing players ever since they were forced to let Lionel Messi walk last summer thanks to their massive debts.

Tebas has put his foot down now, so it looks like it will take substantial sales before they can make any more moves, rather than the unwieldy contract re-negotiations with the current squad they have favoured over the past year.

Absent that, it would be a shock at this stage to see Raphinha in a Barcelona shirt next season.

In other Leeds United news, Premier League rivals are looking to take advantage of the situation and flex their much larger financial muscles.