Pini Zahavi is a well-connected consultant with some high-end clients in the football world. At FC Bayern they are already stressed again with the Israeli, who is replacing goalgetter Robert Lewandowski, who is willing to emigrate. The last trouble with Zahavi ended for FC Bayern with a bitter separation.
In the struggle for world footballer Robert Lewandowski, Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidži? attacked the Polish player’s agent. “Of course he has an adviser who turns his head. That’s just not clean,” said Salihamidži? in Sport1’s “double pass”. Advisor Pini Zahavi is said to be the driving force in transfer poker for the 33-year-old striker, who wants to leave Munich in the summer despite a contract that runs until 2023. He was “surprised” by Zahavi’s behavior, said Salihamidži?.
According to Salihamidži?, the club made a concrete offer to Lewandowski to extend his contract. “In the conversation with his agent, we clearly made him an offer. It’s clear that he received an offer with a term and a sum,” said Salihamidži? on Sunday in Sport1’s “double pass”. “I can’t say what he then said to the player.”
Lewandowski himself claimed after the Bundesliga’s last game of the season that he had not received an offer. At the same time he announced that he wanted to leave the German record champions. When is unclear. The 33-year-old’s contract runs until the summer of 2023.
Bayern had already clashed with 78-year-old Zahavi before David Alaba moved to Real Madrid. Honorary President Uli Hoeneß described the Israeli at the time as “a greedy piranha”. At the time, Zahavi defended himself at Sky against allegations from Munich that an extension of Alabas also depended on his – Zahavi – excessive commission ideas. “I never spoke in detail to those responsible at Bayern about any commission payment,” stressed Zahavi. The topic only came up during a conversation on the sidelines of the Champions League tournament in Lisbon. There Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidži? asked him “how I would imagine that. I told him that we should first work on an agreement with the player, but I will not ask for more than the usual.”
A little later, the Bundesliga club took their last contract offer for Alaba off the table, the Austrian international joined Real Madrid after 13 years at FC Bayern – and is in the final of the Champions League next weekend.
According to a media report, FC Barcelona has made a first written offer for Lewandowski. As the “Bild am Sonntag” wants to know, the financially troubled Catalans are offering 32 million euros for the two-time world footballer. The Spanish newspaper “Sport” recently reported that Bayern had lowered their demand to 35 to 40 million.
The Munich board of directors around Oliver Kahn and Salihamidži? had repeatedly ruled out an early change. “Robert Lewandowski has a contract until 2023 and he will fulfill it – that’s it!” Kahn confirmed in the “Welt am Sonntag”. But the “Basta!” apparently does not categorically rule out talks with interested parties: “There are currently negotiations” revealed Xavi Hernandez, coach of FC Barcelona, ??recently. They are not easy, “since it is Bayern Munich. But Lewandowski is one of the options.”
Salihamidzic kept a low profile about a possible offer. “We don’t want to talk publicly about it now, whether there are any offers or not,” said the 45-year-old on Sunday in Sport1’s “double pass”. For Bayern, the most important thing is to have another year’s contract with the “most important player”. A player “that many clubs in Europe would like to have,” said Salihamidzic.
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