Bayern Munich has officially acknowledged the refusal of its Polish striker, Robert Lewandowski, to extend his contract with the team, and to submit a request to leave the club during the next summer transfer period, and this coincided with the announcement of new details of the player's expected contract with Barcelona.
"I spoke with Leva, and he told me that he does not want to accept an offer to renew his contract with us, and he is asking to leave the team," said Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, according to Sky Sports broadcaster on Saturday.
Hamidzic added, "Lewandowski wants to take a new experience, but he has a contract with us that extends until the summer of next year. This is a reality."
In response to a question about what should happen in order to change the player's position, the Bosnian said, "I do not concern myself with this matter, because our position has always been clear."
On the other hand, media reports in Germany revealed that Barcelona had verbally agreed with Lewandowski's agent to move to the Catalan club in the summer of this year.
And the German sports station "Sport 1" said that Barcelona is waiting for a statement from Bayern about the value of the penalty clause that it desires in exchange for the termination of Lewandowski's contract, which runs until the end of June 2023.
Reports stated that Benny Zahavi, the Polish player's agent, had agreed with the Barcelona administration on a contract linking the Polish striker with the Catalan club for a period of 3 years.
Reports suggested that Bayern would demand at least 40 million euros in exchange for Lewandowski next summer, and the Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” seemed concerned about the high value of the termination of the Polish scorer’s contract in the event that other clubs entered the race to join him, which would reduce the chances of him joining the club. Financially dilapidated Barcelona.
Lewandowski, 33, has scored 343 goals in 373 games with Bayern Munich since his arrival to the team in 2014, and was crowned with the Bavarian club with 19 titles.