Lothar Matthäus questions why so many players are eager to leave Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich is on the verge of potentially losing Robert Lewandowski this summer — just a year after losing veterans David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, and Javi Martinez. They’ll also be losing Niklas Sule to Borussia Dortmund this summer and Serge Gnabry’s future at the club is still uncertain at this point in time. The club’s front office has emphasized the fact that it is still, in fact, financially recovering from losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has greatly affected contract negotiations at the club. Growing wage demands from players and their representatives has not combined well with Bayern trying to be conservative with their finances.

While Bayern is actively pursuing a potentially replacement for Lewandowski, there is still growing concern as to why players want to leave the club in the first place. For Lewandowski, the desire to experience something new is understandable after such a long tenure at Bayern, but Barcelona don’t even have the proper funds to be able to afford him, and what’s the big allure? After all, it was long ago that he said his “dream club” was Real Madrid.

In a recent column for Sky Germany (via Sport Bild), Lothar Matthäus was critical of the fact that it seems like Bayern is struggling to keep ahold of their star players. He questioned why it seems like so many players lately want to leave the club. “It’s a shame and noticeable that more and more players want to leave FC Bayern. It wasn’t like that before. I think there are many different reasons for this. This development certainly does not cast a good light on this club. Some players don’t feel and didn’t feel comfortable with the best German club anymore,” he wrote in the column.

While Matthäus’ overall sentiment is clear, he does, specifically, have some sympathy for Lewandowski and his situation. He strongly feels that the club should’ve acted far sooner than they did for him. “I can understand him! The statements are a clear sign that Robert is very disappointed and does not feel valued. In this case, appreciation doesn’t just mean money for me. If you perform like Robert and you know that the club is still interested in [Erling] Haaland, it’s difficult to accept,” he said.

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“FC Bayern has every right to take a look around. But it is also Lewandowski’s right to express himself in this way. I would have taken care of Robert much earlier. Because I think he can still play at the top level for two to three years. If I were Lewy, I wouldn’t be interested if what I read from Pini Zahavi about the negotiations and the alleged ‘offer’ is true,” he continued.