Bayern Munich director of football Hasan Salihamidzic has confirmed that striker Robert Lewandowski has lodged a transfer request and intends on leaving the club this summer.
Doubt has been growing over the Pole’s future in Bavaria for some time, with his contract set to expire next summer. Spanish giants Barcelona emerged as the most likely candidates for his services, although any agreement for a move looks some way off.
Despite that, Salihamidzic confirmed prior to Bayern’s final Bundesliga clash of the season against Wolfsburg that Lewandowski had expressed his desire to depart the Allianz Arena but reaffirmed the club’s opinion that they would not be forced into the sale.
Speaking to Sky Sport Germany, he said: "I spoke to Lewa. In the conversation, he told me that he did not want to accept our offer to extend the contract and that he would like to leave the club.
"He said that he would like to do something else. But our attitude hasn't changed.
"Lewa has a contract until June 30, 2023. That's a fact. I don't deal with that because our stance has always been clear."
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Whether Lewandowski does indeed depart, he certainly rounded off the current season in fine form. After Josip Stanisic had opened the scoring for the recently-crowned German champions, the striker was on-hand to flick home Thomas Muller ’s cross for his 50th goal of the season on what could be his final appearance for Bayern.
In all, he has now scored 344 goals for the German giants. Despite that impressive milestone, the rest of the afternoon did not quite go the way that Julian Nagelsmann’s men would have wanted as Wolfsburg completed a comeback from two goals down through Jonas Wind and Max Kruse.
Lewandowski’s next destination could well be Spain and the Camp Nou, with Barcelona eyeing a move. Catalan boss Xavi though refused to comment on their interest in the striker but did hint that his advanced years would not be a problem should they attempt to secure his signature ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
He said: “I’m not going to talk about Lewandowski now. But I should remind you, I agreed to sign Dani Alves. All we care about is the professional mentality.
“Players like Zlatan, Modric, Ronaldo, Messi…they are still playing at a high level. Age is not an obstacle.”
Lewandowski has represented Bayern for the last eight seasons following a free transfer from fierce rivals Borussia Dortmund. He has helped the club to eight Bundesliga titles, three DFB-Pokals and the 2020 Champions League crown.
Meanwhile, one of his main rivals for the top scorer crown in German football - Erling Haaland - was also in action for the final time for his current employers. He also found the net against Hertha BSC ahead of a move to Manchester City.
