The dominant topic at FC Bayern has been the Robert Lewandowski cause for weeks. But because FC Bayern remains calm and gambles well, they will probably get rid of the Polish stinky boot for a sum that they would not have dared to dream of.
Does he go or does he stay? If he leaves, when exactly? And for how much money? And has FC Bayern ever let themselves be blackmailed like this? These and other questions about Robert Lewandowski have been swirling around Bayern for weeks. So far they have not answered any of them – and that’s a good thing.
When the Pole announced his desire to move to Barcelona after the end of the season, it caused a tremor in the Bayern cosmos. The star striker has scored 344 goals in his eight years in Munich, that’s 43 per season in all competitions. This was linked to helplessness: What should FC Bayern do now?
At the time, there was talk of 20 million euros as a transfer fee, far too little to commit an adequate successor. So Bayern did the only logical thing: they waited.
Hasan Salihamidzic met Lewandowski and his advisors on Mallorca and tried to mediate. At all other levels, the record champion communicated that he had no intention of letting his top striker go. Kahn, Hainer, Hoeneß – all tried to take the momentum out of the topic. Only one did not participate: Lewandowski.
He was done with Bayern, finished with the club. “I just want to leave FC Bayern,” he said in a podcast and followed directly. “Respect and loyalty are more important than work.” It was clear by then that the relationship between the Pole and Bavaria could no longer be repaired.
And what did Bayern do? They gambled. No one from the leadership rushed forward publicly, everyone remained calm. The club showed no weakness and made it clear that you don’t necessarily have to sell your star striker. The consequence: now Lewandowski’s dream club Barcelona became nervous. The supposed transfer fee – it rose.
30 million euros, 35, 40 – the price spiral kept turning. Until she arrived at 50 million euros plus bonuses shortly before Lewandowski returned to Munich on July 12. This means that Bayern’s claim has been met. One could imagine a sale for 50 to 55 million euros, it said. A move to Barcelona could happen this week.
With their wait-and-see tactics, Bayern did a lot of things right in the Lewandowski case. There was a certain risk that it could go wrong. But because Barcelona caved in first and increased their offer several times, Bayern didn’t gamble, they just gambled well. There couldn’t have been a better way to get rid of their smelly-booted star striker.
Only the question of the successor or successors remains open. Replacing Lewandowski 1-for-1 will be difficult. With more than 50 million euros and the patience that characterized the Lewandowski case, FC Bayern should have enough opportunities to make the search for the next goalscorer successful.
Now it’s getting complicated for Bayern. According to the Italian media, Juventus only wants to let go of the Dutchman Matthjis de Ligt, who is courted by Munich, if an adequate replacement comes. But that’s going to be difficult now.
The preliminary showdown in nerve-wracking poker for Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski will take place on Tuesday – then the star striker will have to return to training on Säbener Strasse. The Pole trembles in front of one man in particular: Uli Hoeneß.
Paul Pogba is back at Juventus. After six disappointing years at Manchester United, the Frenchman is back in Italy. Upon his arrival in Turin, the superstar draws attention to himself.
