In 2014, the then BVB striker Robert Lewandowski moved to FC Bayern on a free transfer – the beginning of an impressive era of success for the Pole with the German record champions. Ex-CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge now reveals details of the processes at that time.
FC Bayern did not have to shell out a penny for Robert Lewandowski in the summer of 2014. The bargain coup was possible because Lewandowski’s contract with Borussia Dortmund expired – and Munich tried for a long time.
“It took us a year and a half before we finally convinced him,” said former club boss and current supervisory board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge at the “Sport Bild Award 2023”.
When FC Bayern was allowed to officially negotiate with Lewandowski six months before his contract with BVB ended, things quickly got down to business. “On January 2, 2014, we called Robert to Munich. He came with the whole family and signed his contract,” said Rummenigge.
The 67-year-old experienced something new. “He was the only player who ever read his 35-page contract himself,” said Bayern Munich’s long-time manager. “I will never forget that, because Robert sat there for three hours, read everything and only then signed.”
344 goals by Robert Lewandowski in the FC Bayern jersey
However, Lewandowski acted “not out of distrust”, “but simply because he wanted to know what his advisors had negotiated for him,” added Rummenigge.
The rest is history: Lewandowski spent eight years chasing goals for FC Bayern. An unbelievable 344 goals in 375 competitive matches are in his Munich CV.
Last summer, the now 35-year-old moved on to FC Barcelona – not without setting another record. 45 million euros went to FC Bayern for Lewandowski at the time – no player in the club’s history brought in a higher sum.