Robert Lewandowski's agent Pini Zahavi has claimed Bayern Munich wanted to replace the Poland striker with Erling Haaland before the latter's move to Manchester City.
Lewandowski has confirmed he will not be extending his contract at Bayern beyond 2023, sparking intense speculation over his future.
The 33-year-old is reportedly eager to move on to a new challenge this summer amid links with Barcelona and Chelsea, and his main legal representative has suggested Bayern have already missed out on their first choice replacement.
What has Zahavi said about Haaland?
Zahavi has claimed Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland was top of Bayern's list of targets as they began preparing for Lewandowski's departure earlier this year.
The Bundesliga champions missed out on Haaland, who has agreed to join City in a €60 million (£51m/$64m) deal, but it has been suggested Lewandowski was well aware of their interest in his services.
"Robert is a very intelligent person, not just the best striker in the world. He knows exactly what is happening around him and what FC Bayern had planned," Zahavi has told BILD.
"So Robert knew all along that Bayern wanted to replace him with Haaland. Erling's father even confirmed it, telling him in a personal conversation some time ago: 'My son comes to FC Bayern for 50 per cent.' The football world is big, but there are no secrets."
Bayern have set €120m asking price for Lewandowski
Getty ImagesLewandowski's agent went on to claim Bayern were reluctant to extend the forward's contract when the subject was initially brought up in 2021.
Zahavi says he responded by urging the club to sanction his departure this summer, but they then slapped a huge price tag on his head.
"I will tell an anecdote from last year," he began. "I came to Munich for a meeting with Oliver Kahn, Hasan Salihamidzic and Marco Neppe.
"I said to them: 'What do you think about extending Robert's contract?' The answer: silence. No yes, no no, no maybe, just nothing.
"Then towards the end of the meeting I said: 'If that's the case, then sell him next summer.'
"The answer: 'We don't really want to sell it, but if you bring us an offer for €120 million (£101m/$127m), then we'll talk.' So roughly the amount that a Haaland commitment would have cost in the summer, including all fees."
Zahavi added: "In any case, I hope that those responsible and also the supervisory board will think about it again.
"Of course they can keep Robert for another year, to be fair he has a contract until 2023, but I wouldn't recommend that. For Robert Lewandowski, Bayern is history."
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