Robert Lewandowski

[Sarni]

I highly doubt that, no one is earning that much at Bayern, maybe if Lewandowski joins Bayern on a free next year but definitely not when we have to pay more than 20m on transfer fee this summer. Rumours are that Götze could reach 12m with all bonus payments next seasons (which probably means Bayern needs to win the treble for him to get 12m) and City offered Götze a lot more, if we believe what is written in german newspapers.

We're discussing Götze not Lewandowski in that post.

 

[LR7]

Lewandowski ready to complete 'dream' move from Dortmund to arch rivals Bayern

Long-term Manchester United target Robert Lewandowski is confident that Borussia Dortmund will allow him to leave the club this summer.
The Red Devils' are keen to add the Polish striker to their ranks but face major competition from recent treble winners Bayern Munich.
Dortmund, who were defeated in last season's Champions League final at the hands of Bayern, could again be left heartbroken by their German counterparts should star man Lewandowski choose to leave for the German capital.

Lewandowski has little doubt that he will leave BVB ahead of next year's campaign and is looking to secure a 'dream' move away from Signal Iduna Park.
'Dortmund are a fantastic club that will always have a special place in my heart. However, I am looking for a new challenge in the future,' 'Dortmund's No 9 told German newspaper Bild.

''I expect that everything will be dealt with and that I can make the move to my dream club this summer. That will be in everybody's best interest'
Manchester United have long admired the talents of the Dortmund frontman who has so far refused to extend his current Dortmund contract which runs out in 2014.
Bayern Munich are leading the race for the signature of Lewandowski however, with their own striker Mario Gomez expected to depart the Allianz Arena this summer.

With speculation still surrounding the future of United striker Wayne Rooney, it is expected new Old Trafford boss David Moyes will look for alternative attacking options should the former Everton forward leave Manchester this summer.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...owski-closes-Bayern-Munich.html#ixzz2VN7Xy4mb

Slightly odd quote. Moving to Bayern won't be in 'everybody's' best interest at all.

 

[Sarni]

Bayern apparently still won't go a cent above €25m while Borussia want €30m. I don't think the distance between the valuation between the two clubs is vast so this move should be completed in the next few werks for around that fee.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Slightly odd quote. Moving to Bayern won't be in 'everybody's' best interest at all.

I think he means that if he does not move this summer, he has to stay 1 more season and then leave for a free transfer.

So both he and Dortmund would get shafted.

Moving now means he gets his wish, and Dortmund get a decent fee so he can be replaced. Its quite clear he will not stay.

 

[do.ob]

Watzke said that he wants to make a statement shortly. "dream club" from two posts above is also an inacurrate translation.

 

[wr8_utd]

Dortmund digging in heels over Lewandowski transfer. Watzke says no move to Bayern this year. "We've now told Robert and his advisers that."

 

[NoLogo]

Bild writes today that Watzke said he won't be sold to Bayern this summer and has to stay until his contract runs out.

Really strange stuff, Lewandowski's agents demanded that Dortmund would let him go this summer but so far they haven't received an official offer. It's a really strange situation and I can understand that Watzke has now made a decision to not sell him but let him go next summer for free.

It's again a perfect showcase of stupid agent behavior, it was clear that their behavior wasn't helpful from the get go and now lead Watzke to make a decision out of principal against Lewandowski and his clownish agents.

If Lewandowski would be smart he would fire those idiots but for some stupid reason footballers never seem to change their agent even if they clearly messed it up.

 

[Godfather]

Don't know if he messed, but regarding your point that footballers don't do such things, the answer is quite simple. Most footballers are a bit daft themselves.

 

[Platato]

Every now and then players switch agents but the norm seems to be hug tight onto your agent. Big statement from Dortmund though

 

[Balu]

Every now and then players switch agents but the norm seems to be hug tight onto your agent. Big statement from Dortmund though

About time. It's clear for months that Bayern won't pay 30m if he can leave on a free next year. It's brilliant for Klopp, he'll have all the players available who played in the cl final and that was a damn strong team. He now can strengthen the first team, only need to replace one of the attacking players and not two, strengthen the squad, maybe find a young striker as a back up and give him time, just like he did with Lewandowski 3 years ago. Pretty sure Dortmund will be strong next season, maybe even better than this year and give Bayern a fight for the title.

 

[NoLogo]

Every now and then players switch agents but the norm seems to be hug tight onto your agent. Big statement from Dortmund though

That's true but usually they change their agent to than get some major idiot like Mino Raiola.

I can understand why someone would have an agent to negotiate their deals if he isn't good with those things but today it seems that agents pretty much make all the decisions for the players and then just convince them that it's the right thing to do and most of them follow their advice.

Paul Scholes never had an agent and he was off just fine but than again he never seemed to have the desire to play for any other club which is just as rare.

 

[kps88]

He could still move if someone like PSG or Monaco comes in and bids 30m though. Might even force Bayern's hand.

 

[NoLogo]

He could still move if someone like PSG or Monaco comes in and bids 30m though. Might even force Bayern's hand.

According to his agents he has already agreed terms with a club, which by all estimates is Bayern, and for both seasons on top of that, so even if he only leaves next summer he will still go to Bayern.

Which btw was another idiotic move by his agents admitting that he basically has a pre-contract without any club having asked for permission to negotiate with Lewnadowski, which again put Bayern into a stupid situation because it's not really legal to do this, even though I think it's pretty common practices to tout a player behind the back of their club.

 

[Balu]

Paul Scholes never had an agent and he was off just fine but than again he never seemed to have the desire to play for any other club which is just as rare.

It's always easy to stay at one club if you're already at one of top 5 clubs in the world. Pretty sure it's different for a 18year old guy from Poland who had to go in another country to play top level football. There's no reason to be as bad as his agents are though. Never before heard of an agent who runs into tv shows twice a month to talk about already done deals that clearly aren't done yet. Should be shot (or at least banned) - the agent, not the player of course.

 

[kps88]

According to his agents he has already agreed terms with a club, which by all estimates is Bayern, and for both seasons on top of that, so even if he only leaves next summer he will still go to Bayern.

Which btw was another idiotic move by his agents admitting that he basically has a pre-contract without any club having asked for permission to negotiate with Lewnadowski, which again put Bayern into a stupid situation because it's not really legal to do this, even though I think it's pretty common practices to tout a player behind the back of their club.

Well it depends on how set in stone they are. If PSG comes in and bids 30m, it might get him thinking.

Yeah it all seems very stupid in hindsight. But usually in this sort of situation, the player gets his move. Not many would have expected Dortmund to be happy to turn down 25m and keep an unhappy player who desperately wants to join their rivals.

 

[NoLogo]

It's always easy to stay at one club if you're already at one of top 5 clubs in the world. Pretty sure it's different for a 18year old guy from Poland who had to go in another country to play top level football. There's no reason to be as bad as his agents are though. Never before heard of an agent who runs into tv shows twice a month to talk about already done deals that clearly aren't done yet. Should be shot (or at least banned) - the agent, not the player of course.

I wasn't asking for him to stay at the same club for life I just can't wrap my mind around the fact how a generally nice lad like Lewandowski surrounds himself with such douchebag advisors/agents.

Like you mentioned as well his agents have made a mess out of the whole thing since day one pissing of Bayern and Dortmund equally with their retardedness that they on top of that displayed openly for everyone to hear and see.

 

[NoLogo]

Well it depends on how set in stone they are. If PSG comes in and bids 30m, it might get him thinking.

Yeah it all seems very stupid in hindsight. But usually in this sort of situation, the player gets his move. Not many would have expected Dortmund to be happy to turn down 25m and keep an unhappy player who desperately wants to join their rivals.

I doubt they will be happy about it but under the current situation it's pretty much their only option without being the losers in the whole situation and sending out the message to other players "If you want to leave we will happily let you go even if the buyer doesn't want to meat our price or doesn't even offer anything at all."

Another point is there was no 25m offer and even if some other club offered the money Lewandowski and his agents already stated that they are only interested in Lewandowski joining his "favorite" club.

 

[Balu]

I wasn't asking for him to stay at the same club for life I just can't wrap my mind around the fact how a generally nice lad like Lewandowski surrounds himself with such douchebag advisors/agents.

Like you mentioned as well his agents have made a mess out of the whole thing since day one pissing of Bayern and Dortmund equally with their retardedness that they on top of that displayed openly for everyone to hear and see.

I meant compared to Scholes and why he didn't need an agent. Just thought that's a bad comparison, I agree with everything you wrote about those clowns.

I don't believe a single word they said about that one secret club being the only option. I wouldn't be surprised if they find a new favorite club in the next days. They tried to get the move to Bayern, it failed, let's start all over again with Real or Chelsea. It's still almost 3 months until the end of the transfer window.

 

[NoLogo]

I meant compared to Scholes and why he didn't need an agent. Just thought that's a bad comparison, I agree with everything you wrote about those clowns.

I don't believe a single word they said about that one secret club being the only option. I wouldn't be surprised if they find a new favorite club in the next days. They tried to get the move to Bayern, it failed, let's start all over again with Real or Chelsea. It's still almost 3 months until the end of the transfer window.

Might actually be true and I'm sure we haven't heared the last in this transfer saga at least not from these clowns.

 

[LR7]

Gary Neville's take on agents for those discussing it..

Football needs to act now. The game is sleepwalking towards a crisis over agents

Spoiler

I wanted to do an article on this subject immediately after transfer deadline day two weeks ago. That left me simmering with frustration at the level of panic that ensues and the amount of money being thrown around.

Instead, I decided to give myself time to reflect rather than just make a knee-jerk reaction. But at some point you have to speak out when you sense a situation is running out of control.
My views about agents are fairly well known. I’ve criticised them before. But I feel their influence in recent years has grown to a level that means football needs to act to address the situation and find ways to curb their influence.

Let’s start with the positives. There are good agents. Every player needs advice at some stage and young ones might need representation, although I would direct them to a contract lawyer and a financial adviser, professionals who charge by the hour rather than someone who takes a percentage of your salary or a fixed fee. Some players of a certain level of fame might even need a commercial agent who can schmooze potential sponsors and bring in corporate backers. All those people deserve a fee and earn their money.

But it concerns me when I see teenagers making a decision to switch clubs apparently on the basis of a bigger pay packet — which, of course, is in the agent’s interest — rather than work their passage into the first team.
It concerns me when I see players who hand over every aspect of their life to an agent, from renting a house to buying a television, to discussing with the manager why he has been dropped. How does he expect to grow up without making mistakes and dealing with those issues himself?

It concerns me that there is a lack of transparency around football finances that means sometimes it is not clear who the agent is working for: the club, the player or the manager? It concerns me that who gets paid what, and where it all ends up, isn’t always clear, especially in global transactions.

It concerns me that there are agents who will hang around youth football matches, offering cash inducements to parents and promises to boys to gain an influence over them. It concerns me that there are corporate companies that will buy up stakes in young players and then offer investors the chance of a return on the money made in the transfer market on them, the so-called third-party ownerships banned in English football but common elsewhere.​

None of this feels right. In some ways, I’m not the best person to make this point. I stayed at the same club for 20 years and I never had to look for a move. I do understand that some players need help to find a new club or to be represented. But I’ve never understood why a mature player would need to pay someone to ask for a pay rise.​

The idea of a grown man, who knows the going rate, not being able to say how much he thinks he should be paid baffles me. I don’t understand any player who would hand over financial affairs to someone who has only come along when they’ve made a success of themselves. As a player, I would want to sit in every meeting over my contract. For one thing, it means I know exactly what is going on and I couldn’t be misrepresented. For another, it would improve my life and skills: it’s an opportunity to educate yourself. And as a simple point of negotiation, it’s a lot harder for a chief executive to tell a player to his face that he’s not willing to give you the money you think you’re worth.​

But it is the role of agents beyond their dealings with players that concerns me most. Why should it be necessary for a chief executive to use an agent to contact a colleague at another club to ask whether they are willing to sell a player? Surely one executive is capable of picking up the phone to another and having a conversation?​

It concerns me that if you’re an aspiring manager you might feel you have to pick a certain agent to get offered a job by clubs. And if you do go down that route, what will your response be when the agent who got you the job suggests that you buy one of his players? You would have to be confident in your ability to survive to say No. How did owners come to rely on agents to have such influence on these decisions in the first place? Surely they’re capable of doing their own research and making their own decisions?

Agents now influence players, owners and executives. Sometimes they are richer and more powerful than those they’re advising. And not many journalists will write about their activities because agents also provide the stories that drive sales, website hits and Twitter followers, so they end up influencing the media as well.

My concern is that, just as the banking sector was allowed to run rampant over the last 20 years with little regulation which led to an unjustifiable culture, football could be heading the same way.
I don’t have answers to the problem but it needs to be discussed. Two steps could be taken to improve transparency.

Firstly, publish the wages of players, as they do in the US sports, so there is no mystique about salaries. Secondly, as well as publishing how much a club spend on agents — as the Football League and Premier League do every year — break down those fees to the individual agents and their companies. Let’s see which agents and clubs share an especially close relationship. Neither suggestion would solve all the issues but they would provide a degree of transparency.

But all of football — the League Managers Association, the Professional Footballers’ Association, the Premier League, the FA, UEFA and most of all FIFA, the ultimate regulators of agents — need to address these problems because there are a lot of good people in football who are bemused as to how these agents came to have so much power.

The Government seems to set up an inquiry into something most days of the week, but football could really do with an independent inquiry into how agents influence the game. And then come up with some proposals as to how to regulate their role.

Plenty of good agents, who do their business the right way, would welcome that opportunity to expose bad practice. Because if people don’t start speaking up on the issue, my fear is football will be found to have fallen asleep during its own equivalent of the banking crisis.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...agents-It-act-Gary-Neville.html#ixzz2VkAJ14oB

 

[Sarni]

at the idiot Kucharski (his agent) who has been constantly on the TV here talking about how he sorted out a move for Lewandowski and he'll be joining a much, much bigger club in the Summer.

I won't be surprised if Guardiola decides next year that he doesn't need Lewandowski and goes for another striker, or signs him and then puts him on the bench. Lewandowski and his agent are coming out of it looking like right pricks. If Klopp can find a new striker he'll probably bench Lewandowski too, I can't see him playing a player that has disrespected the club over and over again.

 

[Brophs]

I still think they'll sell if they get whatever magic number they have in their minds. Particularly if they think Lewandowski might not be 100% committed when they actually need him. Hard decision to make, though, as selling him probably writes off any chance they have of winning the title.

 

[Sarni]

I still think they'll sell if they get whatever magic number they have in their minds. Particularly if they think Lewandowski might not be 100% committed when they actually need him. Hard decision to make, though, as selling him probably writes off any chance they have of winning the title.

I think they won't. Dortmund are loaded with money right now anyway, sure €25m would be a big offer for them but I doubt Bayern will go even that high. I think other clubs will have a look at him now - Chelsea, City and Madrid could do with a forward and Lewandowski is one of the best forwards available. Once any other bid comes their way Kucharski will be on the phone whoring him out to whoever offers the most money, I won't even exclude the possibility of him ending up at Anzhi or Zenit next season. I don't really care where he ends up, he's the best Polish player since Boniek but he doesn't care for the national team, he's greedy as feck and has no respect for his club which is why I won't be sad to see him play out next season in Dortmund's reserves.

 

[Lailiani]

Good for Dortmund. Too funny. I wish more clubs would act like that. Would put some players into their place.

 

[RDCR07]

Is seriously no one, other than Bayern, in for Lewandowski after the last couple of seasons he has had or is everyone trying to wait it out and sign him on a free? Im pretty sure Dortmund just dont want to sell to Bayern. If any other foreign clubs were interested, they might be more willing.

 

[Lailiani]

Is seriously no one, other than Bayern, in for Lewandowski after the last couple of seasons he has had or is everyone trying to wait it out and sign him on a free? Im pretty sure Dortmund just dont want to sell to Bayern. If any other foreign clubs were interested, they might be more willing.

It's obviously transfer rumour mill time and it's hard to distinguish between reality and fiction but the German press reported a few weeks ago that he only wants to move to Bayern.

 

[sun_tzu]

It's obviously transfer rumour mill time and it's hard to distinguish between reality and fiction but the German press reported a few weeks ago that he only wants to move to Bayern.

If that was not the case you would have expected his agent to have got the message out to other clubs that he was open to iffers but as that has not happened perhaps there is some truth in it

 

[Lailiani]

Full Watzke interview:
http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/h...ieses-jahr-nicht-zu-bayern-30770800.bild.html

- no official offer from Bayern
- Lewandowski is definitely not going to Bayern (he sounds convinced)
- Dortmund made 70 million euros from the Champions League so keeping Lewandowski and 'losing' 30 millions isn't necessarily a bad thing (if he helps them to earn similar sums this year)
- if Lewandowski wants to go to Bayern he definitely has to wait for next year
- Klopp, Zorc and Watzke made the decision that the Bayern deal is off. The chairmen of the club supported their decision.
- They will talk to Lewandowski and his agent regarding a move to another club (not Bayern), trying to find a consensus. Watzke can't say that Lewandowski is 100% staying but Dortmund wants to keep him.

 

[NoLogo]

I think to a certain degree they are pissed at Bayern as well since they obviously have talked with them about the Lewandowski transfer but out of all this talk they have never received a formal offer.

I don't know what Bayern's strategy in this was but apparently they weren't that super interested after all or they thought Dortmunds Asking price was too high and rather want to wait till next season to get him for free .

 

[Platato]

I suspect Chelsea will be in for him now.

NoLogo, I heard some time ago Pep isn't too keen on bringing Lewandowski to Bayern. The main focus was Goetze

 

[Blackwidow]

I think to a certain degree they are pissed at Bayern as well since they obviously have talked with them about the Lewandowski transfer but out of all this talk they have never received a formal offer.

I don't know what Bayern's strategy in this was but apparently they weren't that super interested after all or they thought Dortmunds Asking price was too high and rather want to wait till next season to get him for free .​

I am pretty sure that the agents of Lewandowski hat a spoken agreement with Dortmund in winter that he can go in summer for a fixed sum.

Bayern wants Lewandowski - but they do not care if it is in 2013 for that fixed transfer sum - or in 2014 on a free transfer. If Lewandowski or his agent does not hold their agreement they do not loose anything either.

For sure Dortmund did not like that scenario. And I think they hope now that Lewandowski does not keep his agreement with Bayern and will look for another club for 2013. Else all can backfire at them. They have an unsatisfied player what never is good for a team - players will be very cautious making contracts with them...

 

[NM]

I am pretty sure that the agents of Lewandowski hat a spoken agreement with Dortmund in winter that he can go in summer for a fixed sum.

Bayern wants Lewandowski - but they do not care if it is in 2013 for that fixed transfer sum - or in 2014 on a free transfer. If Lewandowski or his agent does not hold their agreement they do not loose anything either.

For sure Dortmund did not like that scenario. And I think they hope now that Lewandowski does not keep his agreement with Bayern and will look for another club for 2013. Else all can backfire at them. They have an unsatisfied player what never is good for a team - players will be very cautious making contracts with them...

we always say this, but it never turns out that way.

 

[do.ob]

I suspect Chelsea will be in for him now.

NoLogo, I heard some time ago Pep isn't too keen on bringing Lewandowski to Bayern. The main focus was Goetze

Actually according to Hoeneß Pep's desired player was Neymar, but the bosses didn't want to sign him because almost all of their players who came directly from South America didn't turn out so well. So Götze apparently wasn't Pep's first choice or main focus.

I am pretty sure that the agents of Lewandowski hat a spoken agreement with Dortmund in winter that he can go in summer for a fixed sum.

Bayern wants Lewandowski - but they do not care if it is in 2013 for that fixed transfer sum - or in 2014 on a free transfer. If Lewandowski or his agent does not hold their agreement they do not loose anything either.

For sure Dortmund did not like that scenario. And I think they hope now that Lewandowski does not keep his agreement with Bayern and will look for another club for 2013. Else all can backfire at them. They have an unsatisfied player what never is good for a team - players will be very cautious making contracts with them...

The only source for such an agreement was one of his agents who once said it in an Interview and I dont think these guys are exactly trustworthy.
Regardless of that Dortmund have not received an offer for Lewandowski, Rummenigge said a couple of months ago that they don't plan to negotiate with Dortmund and a week (or so) ago he renewed that statement by saying that they respect the fact that he has a contract until 2014. So I don't really see why player's would be cautious, since it is far from clear that it's Dortmund blocking an immediate transfer and not Bayern.
Also even if that were true it is not uncommon at all for a club to refuse to sell to its biggest domestic rival.

If that was not the case you would have expected his agent to have got the message out to other clubs that he was open to iffers but as that has not happened perhaps there is some truth in it

After the CL semis one of his agents was kind of brown nosing Real (Kucharsky was reported to have said something like: 'if Florentino Perez wants my number, please give it to him'). Though that might have only been to put Bayern under more pressure to sign him sooner or get a better salary.

 

[Balu]

we always say this, but it never turns out that way.

I think it's quite the opposite actually. Dortmund is a CL finalist and they want to improve the team. They show ambition to actually win things. I wouldn't be surprised if keeping Lewandowski helps Dortmund to find a quality replacement for Götze because the team will be strong next year and Klopp doesn't need to rebuild it.

Bayern have denied transfer wishes for decades now. Ballack for example left on a free, because Bayern didn't want to sell him to Real with one year left on his contract. It's weird that a Bayern fan like Blackwidow now claims it would harm the club in the future, when his own club is doing it successfully for years. Dortmund is financially a top 10 club in europe now, they shouldn't be dependent on selling players to create money.

 

[Shinjisan]

Dortmund have increased revenues due to their CL participation the season before last and the final appearance last season but they are still behind the top clubs in major revenue streams. A club like them cannot afford to let players go on free and ignore a potential €25m.

A year without Champions league football and they can be on a downward spiral pretty quick.

I am pretty certain that they'll let Lewandoski leave this summer for a good transfer fee. It's not like him and his agent have their hearts set on Bayern.

 

[Balu]

Dortmund have increased revenues due to their CL participation the season before last and the final appearance last season but they are still behind the top clubs in major revenue streams. A club like them cannot afford to let players go on free and ignore a potential €25m.

Of course they can. They made a shit load of money already and can't spend it all anyway. They don't loose 25m, they have a world class striker on 1.5m in wages for another season, don't need to pay taxes on the 25m and have one more year to find a proper replacement or develop a great talent who's overall cheaper than a equal replacement right now. The team has stability and is more likely to make it out of the CL group stages with only one player to replace. It's not that easy for new players in Klopp's tactics, Gündogan struggled for half a season, Lewandowski for almost a year. If they buy Dzeko for example, pay him 7m a year and he struggles for half a season with the team underperforming because of it, they arguably lost more money than they got for Lewandowski, if we count in wages and taxes. It's not like they just throw away 25m, they get a lot in return. As long as Lewandowski doesn't act like a cnut on the pitch, it's a smart business decision and helps the further development of the club more than those 25m.

Even without the CL money Dortmund would have increased revenues, that's why it's possible to keep Lewandowski. They have so much unexpected money to spend anyway, thanks to Götze's release clause the success in europe this season.

 

[do.ob]

Dortmund have increased revenues due to their CL participation the season before last and the final appearance last season but they are still behind the top clubs in major revenue streams. A club like them cannot afford to let players go on free and ignore a potential €25m.

A year without Champions league football and they can be on a downward spiral pretty quick.

I am pretty certain that they'll let Lewandoski leave this summer for a good transfer fee. It's not like him and his agent have their hearts set on Bayern.

Why shouldn't they? They've gotten probably €40m more than they calculated from their CL campaign and about the same amount for Götze. Add to that their 'regular' transfer budget and they probably have €80m they could invest if they want to. Also the equation does not net them €25m if they sell him.
Afaik they would have to pay taxes on that fee and another factor are wages: Lewandowski currently earns around €1.5m p.a. (the guy probably missed out on ~€12m in wages by not extending when Dortmund offered it at the beginning of this season), a decent replacement would probably get €6-7m a year. Those two factors should put the money they lose well below €20m.

If Lewandowski acts professionally he will be by far a better player than any other striker they could afford. Another component would be stability, with 'only' Götze leaving they can get another playmaker and the transition should not be that hard, Lewandowski however is more unique bcause of how complete he is - when they lose him they will probably have to rethink the general structuring of their attacks. And last but not least there is no value in the market according zu Zorc.

 

[Shinjisan]

Why shouldn't they? They've gotten probably €40m more than they calculated from their CL campaign and about the same amount for Götze. Add to that their 'regular' transfer budget and they probably have €80m they could invest if they want to. Also the equation does not net them €25m if they sell him.

Afaik they would have to pay taxes on that fee and another factor are wages: Lewandowski currently earns around €1.5m p.a. (the guy probably missed out on ~€12m in wages by not extending when Dortmund offered it at the beginning of this season), a decent replacement would probably get €6-7m a year. Those two factors should put the money they lose well below €20m.

If Lewandowski acts professionally he will be by far a better player than any other striker they could afford. Another component would be stability, with 'only' Götze leaving they can get another playmaker and the transition should not be that hard, Lewandowski however is more unique bcause of how complete he is - when they lose him they will probably have to rethink the general structuring of their attacks. And last but not least there is no value in the market according zu Zorc.

Because It's not the end of world as we know it and I feel fine.

The clubs (businesses) unlike as fans look at things long term, not just one year. It may make sense to fans to not bow down to player pressure or to teach him a lesson but that doesn't make much sense financially. With one year left on the contract, BVB are ultimately resigned to lose him. Why not get a new player in and rethink the general structuring of the attack with the extra money now?

There are certain caveats to him staying, the first, as you mentioned, is If he acts professionally or not. The second is what if he gets a season ending injury in the pre-season? Then you are missing out on his services for the entire season to the already missed chance of €25m. What if they miss out on a champions league spot next year? How will that affect their revenues?

If the past couple of years are the judge, then Dortmund squad as it is now, cannot mount a serious challenge both in the domestic league and Europe in the same season. They finished a point ahead of the third placed club and 25 points behind the leaders. Some of the teams that have won the Bundesliga, besides Bayern and BVB, in the last 15 seasons stood in the bottom half of the table at the end last season.

Dortmund is a well liked club, who generated good revenues in the last two years. They jumped from €130m odd to around €190m last season. Will probably add another €60m-€70m when the results of this season are announced. IMO, they would look to improve on that and consolidate their position instead of getting into an ego tussle with one player. I am sure they want to mount a long term challenge to the Bayern dominance in the league rather than being a two or three season wonder.

 

[do.ob]

Because It's not the end of world as we know it and I feel fine.

The clubs (businesses) unlike as fans look at things long term, not just one year. It may make sense to fans to not bow down to player pressure or to teach him a lesson but that doesn't make much sense financially. With one year left on the contract, BVB are ultimately resigned to lose him. Why not get a new player in and rethink the general structuring of the attack with the extra money now?

There are certain caveats to him staying, the first, as you mentioned, is If he acts professionally or not. The second is what if he gets a season ending injury in the pre-season? Then you are missing out on his services for the entire season to the already missed chance of €25m. What if they miss out on a champions league spot next year? How will that affect their revenues?

I didn't mention anything (fan- or club-) ego related in the post, so I'm not sure why bring it up, I think my arguments are free of such nonsense.
You talk about missing the CL spot next year, when infact selling Lewandowski cheap, buying a cost ineffective replacement (that will most likely be playing significantly worse than him) and overhauling the attack in the process would be the riskiest step in that regard. Their finances are very solid, they have paid off most of their debt and what remains is very long term (so the daily bearing that comes from it is minimal) they won't get into trouble because of that fee in any case.
Btw: what if the replacement gets a season ending injury pre-season? What if Gündogan gets a season ending injury pre-season?

The 'long term thing to do' would be to buy a young, talented striker and give him one season behind Lewandowski to settle in and prove himself.

If the past couple of years are the judge, then Dortmund squad as it is now, cannot mount a serious challenge both in the domestic league and Europe in the same season. They finished a point ahead of the third placed club and 25 points behind the leaders. Some of the teams that have won the Bundesliga, besides Bayern and BVB, in the last 15 seasons stood in the bottom half of the table at the end last season.

Dortmund are a growing club, what happened in previous seasons is not relevant. Their bosses have talked a lot about greatly strengthening the squad, especially in terms of depth and they've already started that process: they've loaned out/sold (with buyback option) their two talents Leitner and Bittencourt, they've bought a 3rd CB for €10m (Sokratis) and they supposedly want to buy at least two out of the trio de Bruyne/Eriksen/Bernard, aswell as another left back. They are also linked with a couple of talented strikers to lessen the gap between Lewandowski and his backup.

Dortmund is a well liked club, who generated good revenues in the last two years. They jumped from €130m odd to around €190m last season. Will probably add another €60m-€70m when the results of this season are announced. IMO, they would look to improve on that and consolidate their position instead of getting into an ego tussle with one player. I am sure they want to mount a long term challenge to the Bayern dominance in the league rather than being a two or three season wonder.

Again: I don't know why you talk about egos when both Balu and me have given multiple reasons why keeping Lewandowski is a perfectly rational move, especially since Bayern supposedly didn't even try to sign him this summer. Selling your best player (offensive wise) for peanuts is not long term thinking. Short term money does them no good if they already have more than they can spend and if they don't think a good replacement is available.

 

[Balu]

Agree with everything you wrote do.ob. The comparison to teams like Stuttgart, Wolfsburg or Bremen is just weird. None of these teams are as big a club as Dortmund with a comparable fan base and marketing potential and none of them finished three consecutive seasons in the top 2 while playing in europe and making a CL final. Also the Bundesliga now has 4 CL spots which helps a lot and makes it much easier to play in the CL every year compared to the roller coaster league we had 5-10 years ago.

If Dortmund really misses out on CL football next season, it'd be much worse if they sold Lewandowski and bought someone like Dzeko because then next seasons revenue would drop significantly and they could struggle with increased wages and depreciation (not sure if that's the right term in english, hope you get what I mean) while most of those 25m are gone. It's much safer to keep Lewandowski and try to bring stability to the team's development.

I think both ways could work. It depends more on players available in the market and how Lewandowski reacts, if he has to stay than on those 25m. To say Dortmund can't afford to let Lewandowski go on a free is clearly wrong. It could be the better choice, depending on how next season pans out, but it's far from a black or white decision.