Barcelona boss Xavi has insisted that Robert Lewandowski's age would not put them off signing the Bayern Munich striker during this summer's transfer window.
The 33-year-old has again been in strong form for his German club during the 2021-22 campaign, scoring 49 goals and registering seven assists in 45 appearances in all competitions.
However, there is currently speculation surrounding the forward's future at Allianz Arena, as his current deal is due to expire next summer.
A recent report claimed that Lewandowski has informed Bayern that he will not be signing a new contract, having been frustrated with the lack of discussions in recent weeks.
Barcelona boss Xavi is believed to have identified the Poland international as the ideal summer acquisition to help the club in their bid to return to former glories.
Lewandowski will turn 34 in August, and there had been claims that his age could lead to Barcelona cooling their interest.
However, Xavi has insisted that all the club are interested in "is the professional mentality", using players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as examples.
"I'm not going to talk about Lewandowski now. But I should remind you, I agreed to sign Dani Alves. All we care about is the professional mentality," The Barcelona boss told reporters. "Players like Zlatan, Modric, Ronaldo, Messi... they are still playing at a high level. Age is not an obstacle."
Lewandowski has scored 34 goals and registered four assists in 33 Bundesliga appearances this season, while he netted 13 times and provided three assists in 10 Champions League outings this term.
In total, the experienced forward has scored 343 goals and registered 72 assists in 373 outings since making the move to Allianz Arena from Borussia Dortmund in July 2014.
Barcelona signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres in January, and both players have been in impressive form for the club in the second half of the campaign.
Aubameyang has netted 11 goals and provided one assist in 20 appearances, while Torres has contributed seven goals and six assists in 23 outings for the Catalan giants.
A number of attackers are facing uncertain futures at Camp Nou, though, with Martin Braithwaite, Ousmane Dembele and Memphis Depay all potentially leaving the club this summer.
Meanwhile, Luuk de Jong is expected to head back to parent club Sevilla following the completion of his loan spell, and Adama Traore is believed to be losing his battle to convince Barcelona to re-sign him on a permanent basis from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Blaugrana, however, face an uphill task to sign Lewandowski, as Bayern president Herbert Hainer has insisted that the experienced forward will not be allowed to leave this summer, with his contract due to run until the end of next season. body check tags ::
