Hainer: Bayern offer “not accepted”
However, Hainer also intervened in the discussion about contradictory statements. Salihamidzic had stated that Lewandowski had rejected the offer made to him, while the striker claimed he had not received any offer at all.
“As far as I know, Oliver and Hasan made him an offer to extend it, and that was not accepted,” Hainer said on the TV show. But there is a difference between an oral and a written offer. Talkgast and t-online Columnist Stefan Effenberg agreed: “It was the same for me with Uli Hoeneß. My contract expired in 2001 after three years, then Uli came to me at the hotel and said they would like to extend it with me. So I said: Then prepare it, I’ll come by next week. It can be. It is clear that you first have discussions and then write them down.”
“Sometimes I have to smile”
Hainer was also irritated by the speculation about a possible early farewell to Lewandowski: “When I hear the discussion like this, I sometimes have to smile,” explained the club’s organizer. “I’m used to it from my professional life: When you sign a contract, both partners know what’s in the contract, and you make a contract so that both sides know what to stick to.” If this basic principle were to be circumvented more and more often, “in the future, every player could say when he is no longer in a good mood: ‘Then I’ll stop’.” The situation is different, however, if both sides agree on premature termination of the employment relationship.
“Robert also said: You have to see that you find a solution for both sides – and both sides mean: A solution for FC Bayern Munich too,” emphasized Hainer, who also emphasized: “There is no replacement for a world-class player like Robert.” He does not believe in an early departure this summer: “He has a contract and I assume that he will also fulfill this contract.”
“Where does the claim come from?”
For Effenberg, the correct approach: “This way, FC Bayern gains time. Finding a replacement now for a few weeks is not possible on the market.” Keeping Lewandowski until the end of the contract was “the right decision.”
In the past season, FC Bayern “only” won one title, were eliminated early in the DFB Cup and in the Champions League – a mixed first year under the new coach. But Hainer vehemently defended the team’s performance: “Now the world is ending because we don’t make it to the semi-finals or the final after winning the Champions League in 2020.”
And further: “Where does the claim come from that we have to win the championship every year, shoot the Champions League and preferably still in the cup in Berlin? But our aim is to win the championship again next year and in playing up front in the Champions League and in the cup.”