Lothar Matthäus unhappy with Bayern Munich’s handling of Robert Lewandowski contract situation

Robert Lewandowski’s future still very much hangs in the balance. Bayern Munich still has not put in motion negotiations for a contract extension and there has been a lot of external noise linking him with a move to Barcelona this summer. At this point, with how much time has past for such an important player having his contract expire next summer, the tension is incredibly palpable around the club as the pressure on the front office to get a deal done mounts. Oliver Kahn, Hasan Salihamidzic, and Herbert Hainer remain confident that an agreement will be reached for a contract extension, but leaving it this close to the end of the season has been too close for comfort for the large majority of Bayern fans, Lothar Matthäus included.

“I would have extended Lewandowski’s contract much earlier. Lewandowski has twice become world footballer, and if you have the chance to tie such a player to you, then you should do everything for it,” Matthäus recently said of Lewandowski’s contract situation at Bayern (Abendzeitung). He has not shied away from making his opinions heard on the matter his sentiment is, without a doubt, one that is shared by anyone who knows just how important of a player the Polish international is for FC Bayern.

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Dietmar Hamann had recently expressed reservations about a contract extension for Lewandowski for more than two years. He cited age as his primary point of concern since Lewandowski is already 33 years old. He doesn’t want a situation like Manchester United is experiencing with Cristiano Ronaldo having returned at 37 years of age. He’s still producing goals and assists for Ralf Rangnick’s side, but the club as a whole are in dire straits and cannot perpetually rely on Ronaldo for results, as has been shone. He doesn’t want Bayern to ever be in a situation like that.

As far as age is concerned, Matthäus isn’t as worried about that as Hamann. For him, it’s all about results and performances, for which Lewandowski is showing absolutely zero signs of slowing down in producing. “I don’t look at age, but at performance. If there were four or five players like that in the squad, then you should think about who could still be important next year and where a change should take place. But every team would like to have a Lewandowski in their ranks,” he explained.

“In the last ten years he played 95 percent of all games,” Matthäus stressed in a testament to Lewandowski’s ability to stay so physically fit and healthy 99% of the time. “That’s why Dortmund didn’t play so consistently this season, because you depend on these players in top form,” he continued when comparing Erling Haaland’s efficacy at Dortmund to Lewandowski’s at Bayern.