Report: Bayern Munich losing to Villarreal won’t affect Robert Lewandowski’s decision on his future

During a period where so many players are due for contract extension negotiations at Bayern Munich, getting knocked out of the Champions League in the quarterfinals at the hands of Villarreal was less than ideal. The contract situations of key players like Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry have already been creating underlying tension at the club and the Champions League exit has also made said pressure continue to mount, particularly on the front office.

While it’s expected that both Neuer and Muller will soon sign new deals, the same can’t necessarily be said about Lewandowski, at least not with the same level of confidence. There have been reports circulating that link him with a potential move to Barcelona this summer after Bayern’s front office have not yet opened discussions with the player or his representatives to try to negotiate a new deal. Barcelona’s sporting director had recently come out and put to bed the rumors that an agreement had already been reached, though talks at Bayern still have not progressed.

Per new information from The Athletic, Bayern’s loss to Villarreal over two legs in the Champions League is not going to effect Lewandowski’s decision to stay or leave Bayern this summer. They also report that negotiation discussions are set to begin in the coming weeks, but that options do remain open at this point. Club president Herbert Hainer has insisted that the club will certainly make a further push in the competition next season and that he has no doubts of that.

At this point, it will likely come down to two things. How much money will Bayern offer Lewandowski per year and how many years of an extension will they offer him? There’s concern over giving him an extension for anything over two years since he is already 33 years old, but it’s been reported that he’s be asking for roughly 30 million euros per year. It remains to be seen if Bayern’s front office will, in fact, offer him that much money.