The moment the whole football world has been waiting for this summer has finally arrived. Robert Lewandowski made his first appearance in a FC Barcelona jersey. Blaugrana's opponent was its arch-rival, Real Madrid. It is hard to imagine a better clash to make a debut for a new club. The match took place in Las Vegas.

The transfer saga with Robert Lewandowski had been going on for a long time and at one point it seemed that it would not find a happy ending. The Polish footballer, during a press conference at the national team's training camp before the Nations League matches, made it clear that he no longer wanted to play for Bayern Munich.

Relations between the club from the Bavarian capital and Poland's top scorer had broken down and it seemed that the best solution would be to end the partnership. "Die Roten", however, decided not to make it easy for the Pole to leave and mercilessly dragged out negotiations with Barca, wanting to get the best possible price for their ace.

© Instagram: @michaelbittle

Fortunately, the two clubs reached an agreement just before they left for their respective American tour and Lewandowski was able to present himself to fans overseas in new colours. The short presentation of the Pole took place in front of a hotel in Florida and the honours were done by Blaugrana's president Joan Laporta himself. Barcelona played their first exhibition match overseas, still without 'Lewy' in the squad, against Inter Miami at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The Catalans won 6:0.

After the game, Barca moved to Las Vegas, where El Clásico was scheduled at Allegiant Stadium. On Sunday morning (European time), Lewandowski made his debut for his new club, whilst still wearing the temporary number '12' on his back. The Pole only played in the first half, but he performed very well and received a lot of positive feedback from the experts. Although he failed to score, Barcelona won against their eternal arch-rival 1:0.

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The next leg of Blaugrana tour of the United States is scheduled for tonight at 2:30 European time. Barca's opponent will be Juventus and the match will be played at the monumental Cotton Bowl in Dallas, with an audience for more than 92,000 spectators.

Blaugrana will play their final game before returning to Europe on Saturday night at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, near New York. Barcelona's rivals will be the local New York Red Bulls. Wonder if Robert Lewandowski will manage to score a goal, in any of the upcoming US matches?

© Craig Fildes