Bundesliga
"Robert Lewandowski is a phenomenon" - Oliver Kahn
Bayern Munich "will do everything" to keep "absolute phenomenon" Robert Lewandowski at the club "for as long as possible," the record German champions' CEO Oliver Kahn has said.
Lewandowski was recently named The Best FIFA Men's Player of 2021 following a sensational 12 months in a Bayern shirt during which broke the Bundesliga's single-season scoring record with a breathtaking 41 goals in the 2020/21 campaign, and helped his club win a ninth successive league title.
He has hit the ground scoring in 2021/22, netting 23 times after 20 Bundesliga matchdays, just one strike shy of the breakneck pace he set last season, and bringing up the 300-goal mark in the German top flight to become only the second man to do so after Gerd Müller.
Watch: Robert Lewandowski, the Milestone Man
The outrageously prolific Poland international has some 18 months left on his current contract with Bayern, and though he turned 33 in August, Lewandowski's long-term future is at the Allianz Arena as far as Kahn is concerned.
"Robert Lewandowski is an absolute phenomenon, not only because of his goals, which he keeps on scoring, but also the level at which he's been playing for so many years. There's nothing better than that. Of course we'll try to get Robert to stay with us," said the ex-Bayern goalkeeper, who replaced Karl-Heinz Rummenigge at the head of the club in July.
"I can imagine he's still good for 25, 30, maybe even more goals a season. It's a kind of insurance for us the way he plays football. Therefore, we'll do everything we can to keep Robert with us for as long as possible."
Lewandowski is not the only senior pro whose contract is up in June 2023, with captain Manuel Neuer and the talismanic Thomas Müller also on deals that run out at the same time.
Kahn stated the club is sounding out the trio with a view to mapping out their futures.
"It goes without saying whether it's Manuel Neuer, whether it's Robert Lewandowski, whether it's Thomas Müller. All legends of the club, to whom one can associate the successes of the last decade and the current successes," Kahn explained.
"Of course, it goes without saying that we exchange ideas with all these players in order to understand what they are thinking, what they want. This is high on our agenda for the foreseeable future."