Lewandowski asks to leave Bayern Munich
Robert Lewandowski has asked to leave Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic admitted on Sunday (AEST) with rumour Barcelona could be his next destination.
The record-breaking striker wants a new challenge at the age of 33 after eight years with the Bundesliga giant.
"I spoke to Hasan Salihamidzic and told him that I had made a decision not to extend my contract with Bayern," Lewandowski said after scoring his 50th goal of the season for Bayern as it drew 2-2 away at Wolfsburg on the Bundesliga's final day of the season.
"Both sides must think about the future. I informed the coach of my decision. I am not renewing the contract, and now the most important thing for both parties is to find a good solution.
"It is very possible that this was my last game for Bayern. I have one more year on the contract, everything will be clarified in the near future."
Lewandowski's intentions had been mooted in recent days but have now been confirmed, with Salihamidzic confirming to Sky television the Poland international had made his position known.
In response, Bayern has told Lewandowski he remains under contract until the end of next season.
It means there could be months of uncertainty ahead as Lewandowski seeks to leave and Bayern look to convince him his future remains in Munich.
Barcelona has been strongly linked with a move for the striker, but its head coach Xavi would not be drawn on Lewandowski when he spoke on Sunday (AEST).
Salihamidzic explained his conversation with the player, who hit a record 41 goals in last season's Bundesliga.
"He said that he would like to do something else. But our attitude hasn't changed: Lewa has a contract until 30 June, 2023. That's a fact," Salihamidzic said.
"I spoke to Lewa. In the conversation he told me that he did not want to accept our offer to extend the contract and that he would like to leave the club."
Salihamidzic declined to entertain the question of what might change to alter the stand-off, saying: "I don't deal with that because our stance has always been clear."
The announcement regarding Lewandowski came in the minutes before kick-off in Bayern's final game of the season at Wolfsburg.
Predictably, he scored in the 40th minute to take his goal tally to the season to 50 across all competitions in what ended up being a 2-2 draw.
