The agent of Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski has stated that his client wants to leave FC Bayern Munich this summer.
Speaking to German sports publication Bild, his agent Pini Zahavi said that Lewandowski wants to sign for Barcelona to fulfil a lifelong dream.
The Polish striker who has spent eight trophy-laden years at Bayern Munich still has a year left on his contract. But he admitted during Bayern’s title celebrations last week that he believes he’s played his last game for the club,
He has been linked with a move to Barcelona, and his agent has now come out to declare that hoping the Catalan side would fulfil a lifetime dream for the 34-year-old.
But according to the Israeli agent, the German side are ‘denying Lewandowski the opportunity’ to join Barcelona despite expressing his desire to leave. This has left the talismanic striker feeling ‘disrespected for months’ by the club’s board.
Speaking to Bild, Zahavi said; “FC Bayern is history. Robert wants to leave FC Bayern after eight years in which he gave the club everything”.
“Now, at almost 34, he has the opportunity to fulfil a lifetime dream and join the club he always dreamed of.
“Why is FC Bayern denying him this opportunity? For Robert, the matter is very clear: he wants to leave FC Bayern this summer. Nobody cares about money here, neither Robert nor me. He hasn’t felt respected by the people in charge for months, that’s the truth. FC Bayern didn’t lose the player Lewandowski, but the person Robert.”
Zahavi also refuted claims that the striker has received an offer to extend his stay at Bayern, before revealing that Bayern wanted over £100million for the veteran striker if they were to sell him this summer, despite only having one year left on his current deal.
“No, there was no such offer,” Zahavi said when asked about a contract extension.
“I’ll tell you an anecdote from the past year. I came for a meeting with (CEO) Oliver Kahn, (sporting director) Hasan Salihamidzic and (technical director) Marco Neppe. I told them, ‘What do you think about a contract extension with Robert?’ The answer: silence. No yes, no no, no maybe, just nothing,” Zahavi said.
“I said towards the end of the meeting, ‘If it is so, then sell him next summer’. Their answer was: ‘We actually don’t want to sell, but if you bring us an offer over €120million (£100m), we could talk’ — it was the amount that (Erling) Haaland would’ve cost, including all commissions.”
Earlier reports suggested that Bayern were intent on keeping him until his contract runs out, but most recent developments suggest that the Bavarians are now open to the prospect of receiving a fee for him and are looking for his replacement.
Meanwhile, Barcelona, who are the major suitors, claim they can afford him despite their financial problems, but if an agreement cannot be reached, it is unlikely he would move to their rivals Real Madrid.
Should a move to Barca fail to materialise, Chelsea will reportedly be willing to sign him. Thomas Tuchel is believed to be a big admirer of Lewandowski’s talents and was reportedly keen to sign him last summer before the club eventually signed Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for £97.5million.
