It wasn’t supposed to end in this undignified way. When the most successful goalscorer in club history after Gerd Müller leaves FC Bayern, you would have imagined a sold-out stadium, with standing ovations, a huge bouquet of flowers from the bosses and maybe even a few tears – but none of that will happen with Robert Lewandowski anymore . Because too much has happened.
“My story at FC Bayern is over,” Lewandowski said of the Polish national team: “After everything that has happened in the last few months, I can’t imagine further good cooperation.”
Should he switch to FC Barcelona this summer, there would be no more official farewells in Munich. Which would be regrettable in view of Lewandowski’s achievements since signing in 2014, as DFB star Leon Goretzka said on Tuesday: “I believe that this was an incredible success story for both FC Bayern and Lewy. And just to show respect for this story, I would be happy if both sides take out a bit of emotionality and try to find a good solution – for everyone involved.
How could this situation between Lewandowski and Bayern escalate in such a way? The AZ gives reasons:
Lewandowski will be 34 in August and would like to sign another big contract. The heavily indebted Barça is apparently offering him three years, but first the Catalans have to sell players, as Spain’s league president Javier Tebas explained.
In the case of Bayern, only an extension until 2024 would be conceivable – as with Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller. Not enough for Lewandowski, whose advisor Pini Zahavi claimed not to have received an offer from Munich. Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic contradicted this: “It’s very clear: He got an offer with the term and the amount.”
Lewandowski’s agent is a problem anyway. Last year, there was a crash between Zahavi and Salihamidzic at a meeting when it came to a new contract for David Alaba.
Ultimately, no agreement was reached, Alaba switched to Real Madrid and became the Champions League winner. Zahavi has now also turned Lewandowski’s head, said Salihamidzic.
In the background, the Bayern bosses are said to have dealt with a commitment from the 21-year-old Norwegian. Which is understandable, after all, Haaland has his best time ahead of him, while Lewandowski will probably play at the top level for another two to three years. But the striker is offended and feels his honor has been violated.
Hence the provocative sentences that CEO Oliver Kahn condemned at Sport1. Appreciation is “not a one-way street,” said Kahn: “Such statements in public don’t get you anywhere. Robert became world footballer here twice in a row – I think he should know what he has at Bayern.”
Lothar Matthäus criticized the Bayern leadership in his Sky column. “It’s a shame and noticeable that more and more players want to leave FC Bayern. It wasn’t like that before,” he said. This development does not reflect well on the club. “As a professional, you notice whether things are changing in a club, the backing is crumbling and other things aren’t what you were used to – and the tendency at Bayern is no longer the same, both in terms of sport and appreciation for Robert like some time ago.”
Accordingly, it is “completely understandable that ‘Lewy’ is no longer interested in Bayern,” said Matthäus. You can “attribute this to yourself, not least because of the strong advances towards Haaland that have become public and have long been known in the industry”.
Scotland – Ukraine
06/01/2022 | 8:45 p.m
This article was written by Maximilian Koch
With his statements at a press conference in Poland, Robert Lewandowski made it clear that he wants to leave FC Bayern this summer. Those responsible for the record champions have only one choice: they have to give up the Poles. A comment.
The original of this article “Four reasons for the Bayern noise with Lewandowski” comes from the evening newspaper.
