Oliver Bierhoff feels Robert Lewandowski leaving Bayern Munich could help competitiveness of Bundesliga

Nothing is set in stone yet, but there is every possibility that Robert Lewandowski could still leave Bayern Munich for FC Barcelona this summer. Short of that, he will see out the rest of his contract at Bayern and then wind up leaving on a free transfer next summer. While Bayern is frantically anticipating his departure and trying to find ample replacements, DFB team manager Oliver Bierhoff is embracing the idea of the Polish international moving on from the Bundesliga. For the league as a whole, Bierhoff believes that Lewandowski’s departure will help promote more competition for the striker’s in the league, and thus, the league as a whole.

“Perhaps his departure could also create more excitement and competition in the Bundesliga. I think in the end even Bayern will be grateful when the competition gets closer to them and creates more excitement,” Bierhoff recently said in an interview with SPOX (via Abendzeitung).

While he does feel competition might be better without Bayern having their star man hauling in 30-40 goals per season, he does recognize that it will be a massive loss for the Rekordmeister. “It would of course be a big loss for the Bundesliga and FC Bayern. He is an absolutely exceptional striker and one of the best attackers in the world. It’s impressive what he’s achieved in recent years,” Bierhoff said. As far as Lewandowski’s potential replacement(s) is/are concerned, Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and VfB Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic’s names have been mentioned as the most likely potential suitors. For the summer window, Bayern has already secured both Noussair Mazraoui and Ryan Gravenberch from AFC Ajax.

With an expected loss of Lewandowski, Bierhoff also recognized how Bayern’s direct Bundesliga rivals have been strengthening; Borussia Dortmund in particular. “Borussia Dortmund did very well with the commitments of Niklas Süle , Nico Schlotterbeck and Karim Adeyemi and sent the signal that BVB wants to attack again. Other teams such as Leipzig or Leverkusen will also upgrade, so next season can be exciting,” he noted.