When former Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski transferred to FC Barcelona, he could not imagine that he would be embroiled in an international scandal.
If it is true, a fake Pini Zahavi (as first reported by Cadena SER), succeeded in initially duping the Catalans — and almost collected a hefty fee in a scheme that was fitting of a Nigerian Prince.
Let’s dive in:
A joint investigation by the German magazine ‘Der Spiegel’, the anti-crime network ‘OCCRP’, the Spanish radio station ‘Cadena SER’ and the Dutch platform ‘Follow The Money’ uncovered an attempted fraud during the process of Robert Lewandowski’s transfer from FC Bayern to FC Barcelona in 2022.
That’s the intro…but how we got to that point is a real whopper:
At the end July 2022, the Catalans received an email from the address ‘pini.zahavi.48@gmail.com’ under the subject “Commission Lewandowski” demanding that they transfer one million euros to a certain Michael D. According to the email, Michael D. was a lawyer. FC Barcelona confirmed receipt of the letter to Der Spiegel. Pini Zahavi is Lewandowski’s agent and played a key role in the transfer. However, he himself said he had nothing to do with the ominous email and doesn’t know anyone by the name Michael D. It appears that it was a fraudster who misused someone else’s identity
Was “ILoveItWhenTheyCallMeBigPini6969@excite.com” not available? It is hard to believe things went that far, but it does keep going:
It has not been conclusively determined whether FC Barcelona actually transferred the million requested. However, there are indications that they did. For example, Der Spiegel learned from a source that a transfer had actually been sent from Barcelona to a Cypriot account. However, it was not accepted by the Bank of Cyprus due to the lack of information about the account’s owner. When asked whether the money had actually been sent, Barcelona did not give a specific answer to Der Spiegel. The club only stressed that the sender of the email had not received any money
What a story…
Leon Goretzka’s situation at Bayern Munich continues to baffle us.
The club has given the midfielder every indication that he should look for a new home, but the 29-year-old continues to believe that if he works hard every day, another opportunity to prove himself will arise in Bavaria.
That seems like a longshot, but it is not deterring Goretzka as he still does not want to make a move in January:
Leon Goretzka does not want to move in the winter. He hopes that he can come in now and get some minutes. He does not want to give up yet.
With Joshua Kimmich seamlessly transitioning back to the central midfield and Aleksandar Pavlović continuing to emerge, there has been very little playing time to go around in Bayern Munich’s midfield — even for prized summer transfer Joao Palhinha, who has been a well-paid door-stop so far.
Goretzka, Palhinha, and Konrad Laimer could, indeed, be needed at some point this season, but it does appear that the club — at least for now — has decided that Kimmich and Pavlović look like the immediate future for the position in Bavaria.
Bayern Munich is back in action and — like always — there is a lot to talk about with the team.
The Bavarians have a big match with VfB Stuttgart, but there are a lot of high-level subjects that have rushed to the forefront of what fans are debating, so let’s get to it! This is what we have on tap for this week’s episode of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:
- The connections between Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart are wild.
- Paul Wanner is looking more and more like a star. Does he have a role with Bayern Munich next season? Will he be blocked if the club extends Jamal Musiala and acquires Florian Wirtz?
- A listener Q&A segment.
- Alphonso Davies to…FC Barcelona?
- The Entertainment Rundown is back again…let’s briefly talk about The Penguin and Salem’s Lot.
Real Madrid wants to bolster its backline and could be seeking a move for Arsenal FC center-back William Saliba:
Real Madrid have made Arsenal defender William Saliba their primary target for 2025 and have already made contact with the France international.
Liverpool FC is among the clubs looking at Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong:
Liverpool have Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremy Frimpong, Monaco’s Vanderson and Fiorentina’s Michael Kayode on their shortlist of potential replacements for Real Madrid target Trent Alexander-Arnold replacements.
Frimpong has been linked to a number of teams over the past two years (even Bayern Munich!), but nothing concrete appears to be imminent. Perhaps this summer will give him an idea of where he might fit for the next step of his career.
This is one of the problems for a club like Bayer Leverkusen when they start to reach new heights. The vultures start to circle and players start to leave. VfB Stuttgart is experiencing a bit of that so far this season. Leverkusen, who has already taken a small step backward this season, could experience a bigger regression in 2025/26 if multiple players leave the club.
Bayern Munich is back in action and we are thrilled about getting to see the squad lace up their boots to take on a very tough VfB Stuttgart side in the Bundesliga this weekend.
There is a lot to talk about, so let’s get down to discussing why this match is so intriguing:
- Why VfB Stuttgart is a challenge for Bayern Munich, but still has a way to go to get back to where it was last season.
- A look at where each team is in the table and the recent form of each squad.
- A look at the rosters and injuries for VfB Stuttgart and Bayern Munich.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
- A prediction on the match.
AC Milan left-back Theo Hernández figures to be one of the most popular players on the transfer market next summer (as long as he does not re-up between now and then) and Manchester City could be thrusting itself into the mix:
Man City have joined the race to sign AC Milan left-back Theo Hernandez to finally address their long-standing concerns in the position.
Despite rumors to the contrary, Chelsea FC attacker Mykhailo Mudryk probably is not leaving the club:
Chelsea have no interest in parting ways with winger Mykhailo Mudryk, either on loan or permanently, in January.
What an international break. With even more injuries adding up since the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Germans still found a way to win. Undav was missed up top but newcomer Jamie Leweling silenced all the doubters by stunning the Netherlands with a remarkable strike.
In this episode, we discuss the following:
- The lineup that Julian Nagelsmann picked, and the absence the injuries have left in this squad
- Tim Kleindienst didn’t do enough to earn a return
- Why Julian Nagelsmann is a genius
- The solution for Germany’s goalkeeper situation
- Looking back at squandered opportunities in recent tournaments and why the next World Cup might be looking good for Germany
- Jamie Leweling earned the #7 after a man of the match performance
