Robert Lewandowski’s days at Bayern seem to be numbered: according to media reports, the striker will leave the German record champions after eight years and is about to move to FC Barcelona. The transfer fee should be 45 million euros plus up to five million euros in bonus payments, and Lewandowski should receive a contract with the Catalans until 2026.
This marks the end of an era. Lewandowski won eight championship titles with FC Bayern, plus three cup victories and the triumph in the Champions League in 2020 – the highlight of the Pole’s career. Probably no player had such a large part in the successes of Munich during this time as Lewandowski, who will be 34 in August. He broke so many records that many observers ran out of superlatives – and provided numerous moments that will not only be remembered by Bayern fans.
Robert Lewandowski: second most successful Bundesliga goalscorer in history
In 2014, Lewandowski moved from league rivals Borussia Dortmund to Munich, where he finally matured into a world-class striker. He scored 238 goals for the record champions, only the legendary Gerd Müller has scored more often in the FC Bayern jersey. In the 2020/21 season, Lewandowski even managed to break Müller’s seemingly eternal mark: With 41 goals in one season, he surpassed Müller’s 40 goals in 1972.
If he had stayed in Munich, the Pole (a total of 312 Bundesliga goals) might even have replaced Gerd Müller (365 goals) as the most successful Bundesliga goalscorer and thus finally set a monument for himself. That will no longer happen – Lewandowski was looking for a new challenge and the relationship with his club began to crack. He still has his place in the history of FC Bayern and the Bundesliga.