Man Utd transfer target Robert Lewandowski warned his behaviour is ‘annoying’ amid links

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Manchester United transfer target Robert Lewandowski has been slammed by former Liverpool defender Markus Babbel for frequently flirting with an exit from Bayern Munich. The striker wanted to leave last summer but a move did not materialise, despite reported interest from the likes of United. 

Lewandowski has become one of the best forwards in world football and was unfortunate to miss out on the Ballon d’Or to Lionel Messi last year. The 33-year-old has scored a staggering 43 goals already this season.  

Last term, he broke Gerd Muller’s long-standing record for goals in a single Bundesliga campaign, scoring 41 goals in just 29 league matches. But he publicly suggested he was open to a departure and has recently repeated that interest – much to the displeasure of ex-Bayern defender Babbel.  

“This howling is annoying,” the 49-year-old told Sky Germany. “It is said that the appreciation is not enough for him, I can no longer hear that. No player has received as much appreciation as Lewandowski gets from the Bavarians in the last 20 years.

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“There have also been times when he wanted to leave permanently, the relationship with the club was not particularly great at times. Nevertheless, FC Bayern stood by him because they think an insane amount of him.” 

Last week, German football icon Lothar Matthaus took a different view on the situation. He criticised Bayern for their handling of Lewandowski’s future.  

“If you haven’t contacted Lewandowski’s side until now, I find that disrespectful. That would have been unthinkable under Hoeness or Rummenigge,” Matthaus said to Sport Bild. “Bayern can count itself lucky that Lewandowski has such a great character and is a full-fledged professional.”

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Lewandowski will still have a year remaining on his contract at the end of the season. It means United, and other interested parties, face having to pay a premium transfer fee on top of his salary.  

“I am open to everything. I’m quiet. It is important for me to be able to focus on my game, always on what can happen in the last match,” Lewandowski said at the start of March. “Everything that remains to be done regarding the contracts is a secondary issue and remains in the background.” 

The Poland international has previously revealed he was close to joining United in 2012. He held talks with then-boss Sir Alex Ferguson but instead decided to remain at Borussia Dortmund. 

He told France Football in 2020: “After my second year in Dortmund, I had a conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson. He wanted me to come to Manchester. I was very interested. I can even say I was ready. But Dortmund didn’t want to let me go. It didn’t upset me more than that because things were going well with Borussia.”

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