Early on Thursday, multiple reports suggested that Bayern’s talismanic Polish striker wanted to leave the club at the end of the season. Lewandowski is believed to be demanding a new challenge in his career after joining die Roten in 2014/15.
Lewandowski, 34, widely considered as one of the most prolific strikers in the modern game, won the FIFA Best Men’s Player 2020. Lewandowski has done it all, scoring 41 goals to beat Müller’s single-season Bundesliga record. More, he won a sextuple — essentially achieving every major championship one could hope to win over the course of a career in one year.
Like many achievement-driven personalities, though, Lewandowski is reportedly yearning for a new challenge — one that seems to include a future outside of Germany.
There were similar noises in 2018, when Lewandowski wanted a move elsewhere, with his links to the Bernabeu most evident. There were rumors of his frustration with the coaching staff and his teammates, but ultimately Lewandowski stayed on, and had the best years of his career, ultimately winning the treble in 2019/20 under Hansi Flick.
So what’s next for Lewandowski?
Over the last few years, Lewandowski added dynamic passing and skills to his game. His positioning and hold-up play are among the best the world has ever seen and his goalscoring ability is stuff of legend. Lewandowski’s composure in front of goal makes him a huge threat against any opponent in the world. Karim Benzema’s contract extension till 2023 rules out a move to Real Madrid for the Polish Hitman, while Manchester City are believed to be moving for a future move for England captain Harry Kane. Lewandowski, himself, prefers a move to the Premier League, with Manchester United and Arsenal said to be interested. A surprise move to the MLS is also a possibility.
What it means for FC Bayern?
Lewandowski, under all his managers, has become almost like a cheat code for FC Bayern. He is at his most lethal especially when Bayern are at a disadvantage. Be it his almost telepathic link with Thomas Müller or knowing exactly where to find Joshua Kimmich, and also, the back of the net, Lewandowski was a Bayern striker in the same mould as Gerd Müller, Mehmet Scholl and Giovanne Élber. With 297 goals in 331 appearances for the club, his numbers speak for themselves. It will be extremely tough to replace him, but a future solution might lie in the form of the Norwegian phenom, Erling Håland, although that deal will need a lot of financial muscle. Other targets include RB Salzburg’s Karim Adeyemi and Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic.
If Lewandowski does leave, we’ll see pretty quickly what path Bayern Munich decides to take and it has to be one that includes a future with Norwegian speedster, Erling Håland.