Lewandowski sets standard amid Bayern speculation

"If Bayern don't try to extend [Robert Lewandowski]'s contract, it will be the worst decision in the club's history," former midfielder Steffen Effenberg wrote in his T-Online column on Monday. Less than 48 hours later, the Pole proved why. 

Bayern Munich needed to deliver following a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie against Salzburg as they welcomed the Austrian champions to the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night. 

In the past, Lewandowski has been accused of failing to make the desired impact in moments like those. On Tuesday, however, the 33-year-old once again underlined his status amongst Europe’s elite goal scorers in familiar record-breaking fashion as Bayern romped to a 7-1 win to book their ticket to the quarter finals.  

"It was an exceptional game from him tonight," head coach Julian Nagelsmann told Prime Video. "He's so dangerous in the box, we know that, but it was great to see him apply to press to score his third goal. He was key for the team tonight, there were a lot of assists, great runs, and he did his fair share of coaching to get others working the channels, so it was a great game from him."

Mixed messages behind the scenes

The clash with Salzburg was billed as the most important of Julian Nagelsmann’s eight-month tenure at the Bayern helm so far. In the end, his charges laid down a marker with the kind of dominant victory their fans had been demanding on the back of some patchy performances. "It was a statement win and an exclamation point," Manuel Neuer said. 

Lewandowski himself was enduring a rare goal drought by his prolific standards, having failed to score in three straight appearances. Yet the 33-year-old set the standard on a high-scoring evening as he netted a hat-trick in the space of 10 minutes and 27 seconds to fashion a 3-0 lead for the hosts inside 23 minutes — the earliest three-goal salvo in the competition's history.

It wasn't quite the record-breaking five goals he scored in under nine minutes against Wolfsburg back in 2015, but, with Bayern aiming to make Nagelsmann’s debut season a glittering one, Lewandowski’s goals continue to pave the path to silverware.

Nevertheless, speculation surrounding his future always seems to be simmering under the surface. When asked about negotiations to extend Lewandowski’s existing deal which runs until 2023, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic recently reiterated that "Lewandowski is a very, very important part of our team. He’s on the way to hopefully firing us to more titles. That’s why [a summer move] is out of the question."

In response, Lewandowski said it was "the first I’m hearing of it," highlighting again that, despite all the success they’ve shared together since his switch from Borussia Dortmund in 2014, the relationship between Bayern and their star striker remains fractious.

Time to break the over-31 policy

Earlier this week, Lewandowski cut ties with Chinese technology company Huawei amid reports that the company is aiding Russia following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

That is a fate that Bayern want to avoid suffering on Lewandowski's terms, but as the Amazon Prime documentary FC Bayern — Behind the Legend that aired back in November highlighted, contract negotiations won't be straight forward. 

"We want to extend — now it's about the length of the contract," Salihamdizic said during discussions with chairman Oliver Kahn and technical director Marco Neppe. "Because we have the rule that we always sign one-year contracts with players over 31. In that case it's not so easy."

The question is whether Bayern can afford to run the risk of the one-year roulette spin when it comes to one of their prized assets as they look to stay at the pinnacle of the game in Europe. 

"For Bayern, they have to do everything to continue to be one of the top teams in Europe," Bayern and Germany legend Lothar Matthäus said. "One man is particularly important to achieve that. And that is Robert Lewandowski."

On the Bayern documentary, Oliver Kahn said of the over-31 policy that "once you break it, it's broken. So it's either-or." Lewandowski's value isn't lost on Bayern, so, if they're not willing to break it for the one of the greatest goal scorers in club history, then who?