United have tried and failed over trying to land Lew
ROBERT Lewandowski’s agent has claimed the Bayern Munich striker wants to leave after spending four years with the club.
“Robert feels as if he needs a change and a new challenge in his career,” Pini Zahavi told Bild.
“The Bayern hierarchy have been informed. Money or a specific club are not the motivation for Robert wanting to move as almost every top club would like to have the best striker in the world in their ranks.”
United are among the clubs who have been deliberately linked with Lewandowski, possibly due to their previous dealings with Zahavi, who was friendly with Sir Alex Ferguson and facilitated deals involving Juan Sebastian Veron, Jaap Stam and Rio Ferdinand between 2001-02.
There is no concrete evidence United are keen on Lewandowski, 29, having signed Romelu Lukaku for a fee rising up to £90m nearly a year ago. However, two former United managers considered an approach for the prolific Pole.
Ferguson watched Lewandowski in person at the 2012 German cup final when he scored a hat-trick in Borussia Dortmund’s 5-2 rout of Bayern.
“Mick Phelan and I had been to Germany to see the German cup final, to watch Shinji Kagawa, Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummels,” Ferguson wrote in his 2013 autobiography. The Scot was mulling over whether to sign Lewandowski or Robin van Persie and plumped for the latter.
In 2013, Ferguson seemed to be weighing up a move for Lewandowski as he approached the final year of his Dortmund contract. Ferguson was convinced Dortmund would resist selling Lewandowski to Bayern following the outcry over Mario Gotze’s pre-contract agreement with the Bavarians.
“Bayern Munich are strong with that, too,” Ferguson initially said when asked about Lewandowski in April 2013. “We just have to wait and see where we are in terms of if we win the league. Then it may be different.
“If the right player comes along you have to be prepared to make a move,” Ferguson added a week later. “I can find room for anybody here as long as they have the required quality.
“I am not sure Lewandowski will be sold to Bayern now. The Dortmund fans are not going to be happy and I don’t think they will sell to their main rivals.”
Ferguson retired the following month and United’s interest in Lewandowski evaporated.
His successor, David Moyes, dedicated the majority of that year’s summer transfer window to retaining Wayne Rooney amid bids from Chelsea. Lewandowski predictably moved to Bayern on a free transfer in 2014.
In the 2015 summer window, then-United manager Louis van Gaal lobbied executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to try and prise Lewandowski away from the Allianz Arena.
“I wanted to train Lewandowski and wanted to bring him to Manchester United,” Van Gaal told Bild. “The price was not a problem for Manchester United, but Bayern did not want to let him go.”
United had rejected their option to sign Radamel Falcao on a permanent basis from Monaco and sold Van Persie to Fenerbahce and Javier Hernandez to Bayer Leverkusen, leaving Rooney as the only recognisable senior striker.
Bayern held on to Lewandowski and United made the deadline day addition of 19-year-old Anthony Martial for an initial £36m.
Lewandowski signed a new deal with Bayern in 2016.