Michael Reschke comments on Bayern Munich’s standoff with Robert Lewandowski

In a recent interview with Tz, former Bayern Munich and Schalke technical director Michael Reschke expressed his views on an array of topics, ranging from whether the Bundesliga needs to make more big-money transfers to the Robert Lewandowski Wechsel-theatre.

When asked about whether it is possible that German clubs could make huge purchases in the future, like the recent Darwin Núñez transfer to Liverpool, Reschke rejected it.

“A transfer like Núñez is not economically possible for any German club. Bayern have leaned out of the window in recent years and invested high transfer fees with Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sané. But I would currently rule out a 100 million transfer from FC Bayern. Such an investment would come as a total surprise. And for other Bundesliga clubs, such investments are out of the question anyway,” Reschke said.

He went on to state that this wouldn’t impact top German clubs negatively.

“Though no Bundesliga club will start economically suicidal actions, we still have a very good and exciting league, if you exclude the championship fight. Everything else is extremely exciting: How euphoric did VfB Stuttgart celebrate their escape from relegation? How intensely did Hertha BSC celebrate the victory over Hamburg in the relegation? Gigantic how the people of Cologne celebrated entering the Conference League! And what was going on in Frankfurt? The league lives,” Reschke remarked.

On the saga of Robert Lewandowski’s potential exit from Bayern and subsequent move to FC Barcelona, Reschke believes that this extremely difficult situation could be further complicated if Lewandowski expresses his desire to leave the club in the locker room. He further asserted that this could sour the mood of the locker room and give Julian Nagelsmann a very tough time handling the squad.

“In case he remains in Bayern, joint agreements must be made with Robert at an early stage. Just insisting on the contract is certainly not enough. It is important to find a performance-enhancing base within the club, the team and especially in connection with Julian Nagelsmann,” Reschke said. “All decision-makers at FCB are required to stabilize the overall structure in such a way that they can start the new season with new strength. This cannot be solved by Julian alone. But those responsible for Bayern know that and will act accordingly.”

Despite the fact that Lewandowski is a goal machine and one of the best strikers in the world, it is undeniable that he is 33 years old. Because of this, if he transfers this summer, it might his last transfer.

Reschke believes the fee must be decided based on what total investment this would be worth to Bayern for three years. In his opinion, a possible transfer income of over 40 million euros for Bayern would be “absolutely great.”

In Sasa Kalajdzic, Reschke sees a very good striker who is capable of a lot. However, he cautions that no matter who the next striker is, one shouldn’t expect what Lewandowski would provide: “He was the best striker in the world for years. Lewandowski successor? Please do not set any Lewa bar.”

The 64-year-old believes that, along with finding a common solution for both parties, muscle-flexing also plays a part in transfer deals. He likens it to a game of poker, where the main question is of who has the better nerves.

He feels that both parties; Bayern and Lewandowski are playing their game, which is normal. “But the one thing is clear: Bayern are sitting on a damn long lever. Nothing works without Bayern Munich.”, he declared emphatically.