Lothar Matthäus again critical of Bayern Munich’s handling of Robert Lewandowski’s contract

The Robert Lewandowski saga still continues, though recent reports have suggested the striker’s entourage is confident Bayern Munich will soon agree on a proper fee with Barcelona for the transfer to finally materialize. Barcelona has already lodged three separate bids for Bayern’s no. 9, but they were all below the asking price of at least 50 million euros plus add-ons that Bayern had initially asked for and have remained firm in their valuation on the player. They want to get a deal done prior to Bayern’s squad departing for the United States for their pre-season tour.

In a recent Sky column, Lothar Matthäus explained how he feels Lewandowski has been treated slightly unfairly by Bayern Munich since he’s made it clear that he wants to leave the club with Barcelona as his preferred destination. “Attracting other players to Munich under similar conditions is fine, obviously not fulfilling your own wishes. I think that’s a shame,” he wrote (Abendzeitiung).

Matthäus looked on the other end of the spectrum in terms of players that Bayern has brought in this summer to sort of see the perspective if the shoe was on the other foot, so to speak. Both Sadio Mané and Matthijs de Ligt had/have made it clear to their selling clubs (Liverpool, Juventus) that they wanted to leave and Bayern was their preferred destination. Mane has already joined Bayern and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic was recently in Turin to negotiate a fee for De Ligt — it’s expected he will become a Bayern player very soon.

“Bayern gratefully accepted that both Mané and now de Ligt have at least made it known internally to their club that they want to go to Bayern and that the clubs may find a solution. his usually speeds up a transfer because most clubs then try to get a reasonable fee for the player who wants to leave,” Matthäus explained. He doesn’t see Lewandowski’s situation as being too different from that of Mane’s or De Ligt’s. Of course, neither player really publicly postured for a move away like Lewandowski did when he was away with Poland during the international break, but Matthäus still doesn’t feel that the situation is too different.

Photo by Roland Krivec/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Of course, both De Ligt and Mané had/have upcoming expiring contracts, just as Lewandowski does, but Liverpool and Juventus weren’t entirely closed off to entertaining appropriate, feasible offers for the players. In that sense, Bayern has been way firmer in their stance of 50 million+ euros or ‘no go.’ While Matthäus will be well aware of the conservative, traditional nature of Bayern’s front office and holding players to contracts they’ve signed, he still feels that Lewandowski wasn’t treated fairly in this whole timeline of events.

“FC Bayern will not let an extremely well-deserved player change here for a reasonable transfer fee of around 40 million,” Matthäus argued, suggesting he feels that fee should be enough to let the striker leave the club this summer. “I wish for the club and also for this player, whom I appreciate beyond measure and of whom I’m an incredibly big fan, that all parties find a solution that they can live with in the end,” he concluded.