374 competitive games, 344 goals, 72 assists and countless titles: In the FC Bayern Munich jersey, Robert Lewandowski finally rose to become the best center forward of the last ten years – but suddenly the magic fizzled out.
After eight incredibly successful years at FC Bayern, Robert Lewandowski (contract until 2023) is bluntly pushing his early departure. His adviser Pini Zahavi had “Bild” align that the German record champions had “lost the man Robert”, his client felt “not respected”, the club was “history” for him.
Salihamidzic’s allegations that Zahavi had simply turned Lewandowski’s head, the advisor countered to the sports magazine: Lewandowski is “a grown man who knows exactly what he wants. I certainly don’t turn his head or try to influence him, I never do that,” Zahavi is quoted as saying.
“Sport Bild” now wants to have uncovered how the break between Munich and the second-best goalscorer in Bundesliga history came about.
Accordingly, there has been radio silence between Lewandowski and FC Bayern since the last league game of the past season (2-2 against VfL Wolfsburg on May 14). The Pole, on the other hand, is said to have sought an exchange with his ex-teammate Thiago. He comes from the youth of FC Barcelona and is said to have provided Lewandowski with insider knowledge about his supposed desired goal. Lewandowski just wanted to “quickly get out of Munich,” according to the report.
Last August was said to have been decisive for the radical attitude, reports “Sport Bild”. At that time, Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic explained in a “double pass” on “Sport1” that Munich would of course be one of the clubs that would follow the outstanding performance of BVB striker Erling Haaland closely. “Otherwise we would be complete amateurs,” said the 45-year-old. A statement that hits the nail on the head, but is said to have annoyed Lewandowski.
As a result, the 33-year-old is said to have told friends shortly afterwards that he could imagine a change of scenery if Bayern were already thinking about a possible successor.
That was the “key moment” for the break between Lewandowski and FC Bayern
According to “Sport Bild”, the next “key moment” on the way to the broken relationship was October 2021. At that time, Zahavi is said to have traveled to Munich and offered the club greats an extension with Lewandowski – but the leadership refused. “Silence. No yes, no no, no maybe, just nothing,” Zahavi outlined the situation afterwards.
But that’s not all: according to Zahavi, the decision-makers on Säbener Strasse have stated that they do not want to sell Lewandowski unless he presents an offer of 120 million euros. The sum that would probably have finally enabled Bayern to enter Haaland poker, which has since been decided in favor of Manchester City. The statement is said to have “pained” Lewandowski.
The constant sword of Damocles Haaland is said to have caused a bad mood at Lewandowski in the past few weeks and be the reason why the attacker left the championship celebration after almost an hour, the report reveals.
However, it is completely open whether there will actually be a separation in the end. The Bayern bosses around CEO Oliver Kahn and Co. recently emphasized several times that Lewandowski had to fulfill his contract, but the consequences for the team are only partially foreseeable.
“Sport Bild” is sure that the world star will continue to give everything on the pitch, but a dissatisfied Lewandowski would certainly not be good for the mood.