Robert Lewandowski says his “Bayern Munich story is over” and that he wishes for the club to let him transfer in the summer window.
Lewandowski has been linked to Barcelona but his current contract runs until 2023. The striker, who broke the goalscoring record in the Bundesliga while at Bayern, has been at the German side since 2014 but has now made his desire to leave public.
“My story at Bayern is over,” he said at a Poland press conference. “After everything that has happened in recent months, I cannot imagine further good cooperation.
“Bayern is a serious club and I hope they will not keep me just because they can. A transfer is the best solution for all parties.”
But from recent reports it may not be easy for the Poland international to leave this summer.
Bayern president Herbert Hainer told Sport 1: “Lewandowski has a contract until June 2023 and will play for us until then. When you sign a contract, you can’t speak of ‘forcing’ someone to fulfil it…”
And it isn’t just the president who wants to keep Lewandowski at the side, Bayern’s director of football Hasan Salihamidzic was adament about the forward remaining.
“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 told Sky Sport Germany earlier this month. “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.”
Barca manager Xavi confirmed they had entered negotiations to sign Lewandowski but that it is a tricky deal to solidify. The Spanish club’s financial woes are understood to not be helping the talks move along.
