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Rummenigge strengthened against Lewandowski’s dream club Barcelona

DAfter the clear positioning of his successor Oliver Kahn and the rest of the Munich club management, the former boss of FC Bayern, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, is counting on Robert Lewandowski staying with the German soccer champions. “I can’t imagine that Bayern Munich will give up Robert now with these statements,” said Rummenigge on Sunday on the TV station “Bild”. The 66-year-old explicitly aimed at the words of his successor Kahn. “He will fulfill this contract – that’s it!” Kahn said about Lewandowski at the Munich championship celebration. Kahn used the words “to show: the door is closed,” interpreted Rummenigge.

Lewandowski’s contract expires on June 30, 2023. According to his advisor Pini Zahavi, FC Bayern is “history” for the world footballer. There is speculation about a move to FC Barcelona. “He’s a goal machine, a goal guarantee,” said Rummenigge. “I wouldn’t give up a player like that voluntarily.” Rummenigge doesn’t rule out further seasons for Lewandowski in Munich. “You have to fight for it, you have to have discussions with him,” he advised the Bayern management: “Cuddles with advisors is not that easy, but it’s still helpful every now and then.”

Rummenigge also stirred up Lewandowski’s possible future club in the transfer theater. “I can’t imagine that you can currently win more with FC Barcelona than with Bayern Munich,” he said: “What more can Barcelona offer at the moment? I can’t think of anything to be honest.” That is of enormous importance for Bayern, but also for the entire Bundesliga.

“Robert is irreplaceable for FC Bayern. You need a player like that, even if he’s about to turn 34. That’s a goal guarantee that doesn’t exist anywhere in Europe. Robert is top class!” The league has already lost a top star in Erling Haaland and thus lost its appeal, “you have to pray that Robert stays, he is the absolute attraction of the league”. Lewandowski is not a “riot maker” who provokes a farewell: “You have to include him in the inner workings of the club.”

“An incredible task”

Rummenigge is fundamentally concerned about the Bundesliga in view of the “absurd” deal between star striker Kylian Mbappe and Paris St. Germain. “Where is this going to lead? How does a Bundesliga club, even if it’s called Bayern Munich, want to keep up and remain competitive?” This is “an incredible task”. He was used to a lot, but with the sums rumored he “had a slight dizziness for the first time”.

Rummenigge also urged prudence after the tumult at the Champions League final. “I think we need to slow down a bit,” he said. During the video interview, the 66-year-old, who is a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, recalled the tragedy at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels in 1985, in which 39 people died. “We have to shut down this whole issue a bit and not wait for something to happen,” said Rummenigge. You have to “quietly find your way back to normality together with the fans. This is very important.”

There had been massive problems, especially when entering the stadium. There was also a tear gas operation by the police. The European Football Union UEFA explained the chaos by the high number of fans without valid tickets. The game at the Stade de France had started 36 minutes late because of the problems. Even after the game it was “a bit chaotic”, said eyewitness Rummenigge. “The French police didn’t get a good handle on the whole organization, even after the game.”

Rummenigge can well imagine Toni Kroos continuing his “extraordinary career” even after his current contract with Real Madrid ends. “The contract expires in a year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it ends in a year,” he said. Real Madrid in particular, with whom Kroos (32) won the Champions League for the fifth time on Saturday and as a professional, work longer with older players, as you can see with Luka Modric (36). Rummenigge said he could not predict what Kroos would do after his career. “I think it would be nice if he stayed in football.” Kroos switched from Bayern Munich to Real Madrid in 2014.

Rummenigge was delighted with the success in the final for Kroos, David Alaba and Carlo Ancelotti, who have a Bayern past as players and coaches. “The three played an important role for us,” said Rummenigge. Ancelotti had to leave Munich prematurely in September 2017, Alaba left Bayern on a free transfer last summer. With his move eight years ago, Kroos ultimately “did everything right, but Bayern didn’t do everything wrong either,” said Rummenigge, recalling the transfer fee of an estimated 25 million euros. He very much regrets the change from Alaba. He was the “boss of the defensive”, this part Alaba is missing from FC Bayern.

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