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Bayern Munich have told Polish striker Robert Lewandowski that he cannot leave before his contract expires next year.
The 33-year-old Poland star has been linked with a transfer to Barcelona, but Bayern insists Lewandowski must fulfil his contract which runs out in June 2023.
Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic told German daily Bild that during a phone call with Lewandowski on Tuesday he “clearly explained our position on his contract situation to him”.
Media reports suggest Barcelona want to pay 32 million euros ($34 million) for the two-time FIFA best male player of the year.
“A contract is a contract,” Bayern president Herbert Hainer said recently.
“Where are we going if a player can end a contract early?”
However, the striker upped the ante again earlier this week by saying “I’m leaving because I want more emotion in my life” on a Polish podcast.
Without naming them, Lewandowski claimed senior club bosses “did not want to listen to me to the end. Something in me went out. It’s impossible to ignore”.
After eight years in Munich, Lewandowski has won every possible title with Bayern including lifting the Champions League trophy in 2020.
He has been the top-scorer in the Bundesliga for each of the last three seasons, but Lewandowski believes Bayern should let him go now and receive a fee rather than him leave next year on a free transfer.
“It’s about finding the best solution. FC Bayern and I are not enemies,” he added.