Lewandowski set to leave Bayern Munich as striker won't renew contract

Posted Friday, May 13, 2022 by Goal.com

The forward's time with the German giants is nearing its conclusion

Robert Lewandowski will not renew his contract at Bayern Munich, GOAL can confirm.

The striker's current deal runs until the end of next season, but he has already decided he wants to leave the club and could be sold before his contract expires.

Lewandowski has been heavily linked to Barcelona in recent months, though no agreement has been completed yet.

What went wrong in negotiations?

As of April 12, exactly one month ago, Bayern Munich were confident they would secure a new deal for Lewandowski.

"We definitely have Robert with us for another season," said Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn at that date to Amazon Prime. "We know what we have in him and we're relaxed about it. Apparently there's a competition out there: 'Who will tell the biggest nonsense story about Robert Lewandowski?'

"Talks will continue. We're not crazy and are [not] discussing the transfer of a player who scores between 30 and 40 goals with us every season."

But it soon became apparent that there was something wrong.

Amid reports that Lewandowski was unhappy with the lack of progress in talks with the club, he went public with his displeasure on the same day Bayern Munich clinched the Bundesliga title.

"There will be a meeting soon, but nothing special has happened so far," Lewandowski told Sky. "I also notice what's going on. The situation is not that easy for me."

What's next for Lewandowski?

Bayern Munich now have a difficult decision to make: Sell their best forward this summer without a direct replacement lined up, or let him leave for free next year?

With annual Champions League ambitions, they may feel it necessary to keep Lewandowski to bolster a 2022-23 tournament run. But neither option seems ideal, and it remains unclear how they will approach the matter.

Borussia Dortmund this week announced the signing of top German prospect Karim Adeyemi - a reported target of Bayern Munich - in a further blow to the Bavarian organisation.