Robert Lewandowski, a former star for Bayern Munich, has criticized the German powerhouse for the manner they handled his summer transfer to Barcelona.
The forward alleged that Bayern made “bullsh*t” assertions about the conditions that led to his exit, which he vehemently disputed.
Lewandowski, 33, put an end to eight years at the Allianz Arena when he signed a €50 million (£42 million/$50 million) deal with Barca, earning condemnation from the defending Bundesliga winners for both the player and his new team.
What did Lewandowski say in response to Bayern’s allegations?
“[My exit] had nothing to do with Erling [Haaland],” Robert Lewandowski told ESPN when asked about reports that the Norwegian’s links with Bayern had prompted him to seek a new club.
“I am the guy who even if something’s not good for me — truth is more important. I don’t want to speak about what happened exactly. But if the question is if the decision to move was because of him, no, I didn’t see the problem if he joined Bayern Munich.
“But some kind of people doesn’t say to me the truth, say something different. And for me it was always important to be clear, to stay true, and maybe for a few people that was the problem. And in the end I know that something doesn’t work well with my person as well and I knew that, OK I see and I feel that maybe it’s a good time to move out of Bayern Munich and join Barcelona.
“I had a very good relationship with my teammates, with the staff, with the coach, and these are all things I’m going to miss because I spent a beautiful time there. And we were not only friends from the pitch but also something more. But in the end this chapter is over and I open a new chapter in my life and a new chapter in my career.
“So I feel that I’m in the right position, right place. So everything that’s happened in the last maybe few weeks before I left Bayern Munich, that was also of course a lot of politics. The club tried to find an argument why they can sell me to another club because before it was difficult to explain maybe to the fans. And I had to accept that even though it was a lot of bullsh*t, a lot of sh*t said about me. Not true, but in the end I knew that the fans, even in this period, still support me a lot.”
Why did Robert Lewandowski leave Bayern?
The 33-year-old joined Bayern Munich in 2014 after leaving Borussia Dortmund in a Bosman transfer. He has been there for over eight years. The Poland captain has had extraordinary success while playing for the team.
According to popular belief, he left Bayern Munich after his contract expired for a select few reasons, none of which included Erling Haaland’s arrival.
The 33-year-old reportedly believes he has accomplished everything he can at Bayern Munich, which is the first factor cited in the report.
Lewandowski, in fact, has won the Bundesliga championship every year since joining the team. He has also won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, DFB-Pokal (3), and German Supercup (5).
In addition, the Poland captain broke Gerd Muller’s 49-year-old record of 40 goals in a single Bundesliga season last year, ending with 41 goals. He, therefore, believes that he needs a fresh challenge in his line of work.
Second, according to reports, there was some tension in the Bayern Munich locker room between Lewandowski and a few other players, particularly with some of the team’s younger players.
The third reason the great scorer wanted out in the summer was that he is not completely sold on the management style of Bayern current boss, Julian Nagelsmann.
Bayern hasn’t looked quite as dominant as they have in the past, and Nagelsmann’s competence for the position has been questioned. And it appears that Lewandowski is one of his critics as well and looked for a way out.
