Oliver Kahn comments on Robert Lewandowski’s contract situation, confirms meeting with Mino Raiola

Robert Lewandowski’s contract at Bayern Munich has been under the microscope in recent weeks given the suggestion that the club is yet to formally approach him to begin negotiation talks for a new deal. His current contract expires next summer, much like Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller’s, but the other pair of veterans have had positive signals from the club. This hasn’t exactly been the case for Lewandowski despite Bayern’s front office members saying that they 100% want the Polish international to stay at Bayern. Herbert Hainer had gone as far as saying he’d like the striker to finish his career in Munich.

Prior to Bayern’s 1-1 draw vs. Bayer Leverkusen kicking off, Oliver Kahn spoke to Sky Sports Germany and he was asked about Lewandowski’s contract situation, as well as his recent rendezvous with Mino Raiola. Even though there are suggestions that Bayern has not yet given Lewandowski any positive signals regarding negotiations for a new deal, Kahn insists that they will do so at some point in the spring. For now, they want the club to focus on winning their tenth consecutive Bundesliga title and getting past RB Salzburg in the Champions League. “I’ve said it several times that we want to hold talks with many of our deserving players in the spring, including Robert, of course. We are now going into a very crucial phase of the season, now every millimeter counts,” Kahn explained (tz).

Photo by Lukas Schulze/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images

Kahn feels that, perhaps, the concentration and emphasis the club is putting on the football itself is being slightly misconstrued as a lack of desire to sort the contracts or Neuer, Muller, and Lewandowski, but that’s simply not the case. “We now want to concentrate 100 percent on what’s at stake: becoming German champions and we also have the second leg against Salzburg in mind. Then we’ll take a look,” Kahn affirmed. While Kahn may very well be right, Bayern also does not want to wait too long, or they could potentially have another David Alaba or Niklas Sule situation on their hands.

When Kahn met with Mino Raiola last week, speculations rose as far as what, exactly, the reason for the meet up was. His representation of Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland and Ajax’s Ryan Gravenberch sparked suspicion that there were talks held for either one of or both of the players potentially having a future at Bayern. As expected, Kahn wanted to remain tight-lipped when he was asked about the recent meeting and discussions with the Dutch-Italian agent. “Yes, that’s right, I was in Monaco. But I was also in London this week, I travel a lot in Europe. It’s completely normal to meet with one or the other player advisor. You will understand that I will not speak publicly about the content of these conversations. Haaland is a Borussia Dortmund player and is injured at the moment. I’ve always emphasized that I don’t like talking about players from other clubs,” he explained.