The confirmed agreement
FC Barcelona's July 19, 2022 announcement put Robert Lewandowski's transfer from Bayern Munich at €45 million plus €5 million in variables. It described a four-season contract and a €500 million buyout clause. These three numbers describe different things: the base transfer payment, potential additional payments and the contractual release provision.
Variables should not automatically be counted as money already paid. Likewise, a buyout clause is not the fee Barcelona paid Bayern. Keeping the terms separate makes the announcement easier to compare with another transfer report.
Source [1]Announcement stages and later contracts
The club distinguished the final agreement from the agreement in principle announced three days earlier. Its account also noted that Lewandowski had arrived in Miami and passed his medical. This sequence shows why an initial transfer headline may precede administrative completion.
The four-season term belongs to the agreement announced in 2022. It does not, by itself, establish today's contract status or any later extension. This article preserves the original event with its date attached; use current club announcements for a later squad or contract question. Messi's proposed renewal offers a contrasting example of why agreeing terms and registering a player cannot be treated as identical steps.
Source [1]