Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said Robert Lewandowski is not for sale — at any price — amid reports that Chelsea are the latest top club chasing the Poland striker.
“Our door remains closed, the top quality we have at Bayern Munich will stay here,” Rummenigge told Munich-based newspaper TZ.
The UK media has suggested Lewandowski, under contract at Bayern until 2021, could move to Chelsea and the Polish striker’s agent revealed in May that his client wants to leave Munich after four successful years.
In the past, Lewandowski has frequently been linked to Spanish giants Real Madrid.
However Rummenigge says Lewandowski, the Bundesliga’s top-scorer last season with 29 goals and who has a market value of around €85 million ($99 million), is going nowhere — whatever the amount offered.
“With Robert, we clearly want to send a signal to people within and outside the club: Bayern Munich are completely different to other clubs who get weak when certain sums are mentioned,” added Rummenigge.
“We are completely satisfied with him, and in his position there are only a few players who are comparable.
“So it’s not in our interest to hand him over — no matter if someone puts €100 or €150 million on the table.”
Bayern have just returned from a two-match tour of the USA, losing 2-0 to Juventus and 3-2 to Manchester City without Lewandowski and their international stars, who were rested after the World Cup.
Rummenigge has ruled out Bayern signing defender Benjamin Pavard, a World Cup winner with France, from VfB Stuttgart this summer.
“No, we have enough quality (at center-back),” Rummenigge told magazine Sport Bild.
However, several top Bayern players are the subject of rumored high-profile transfers.
Jerome Boateng is reportedly on the verge of joining Paris Saint-Germain, while Arturo Vidal has been linked to Inter Milan, Thiago Alcantara could return to Barcelona and defender Juan Bernat is up for sale.
At the other end of the financial scale, Bayern have signed Robert Kovac as assistant coach for a nominal fee of just one euro.
Robert, 44, the younger brother of Bayern’s new head coach Niko, 46, has joined his sibling in Munich.
The brothers worked together at Eintracht Frankfurt last season and Bayern paid a token amount to buy Robert out of his Frankfurt contract.
“Yes, it’s true,” Eintracht’s director of sport Fredi Bobic confirmed in German daily Bild.
“It could have also been zero, so we agreed on a symbolic gesture of a euro, also for legal reasons.
“It’s normal practice, even if it sounds funny.”
Bayern start their week-long pre-season training camp in the idyllic Bavarian resort of Tegernsee on Thursday.
They will attempt to win a seventh straight German league title with the new season to kick off on August 24 when they host Hoffenheim. Bayern face Manchester United in their final pre-season friendly on Sunday.
Bayern Munich boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says Robert Lewandowski is going nowhere
Bayern Munich boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says Robert Lewandowski is going nowhere
- Bayern's star striker reportedly want to leave the German giants.
- Chelsea one of many clubs interested in signing the prized Pole
Saudi football authorities deny that Saudi national team manager Herve Renard has been sacked
- It comes after Al Riyadh newspaper, citing “special sources,” claims the Saudi Arabian Football Federation was considering replacing him
- @SaudiNews50 posts message on X, citing SAFF, saying the report is false; Al Riyadh later confirms it has received a written denial from the federation
RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian Football Federation moved quickly on Wednesday night to deny rumors that national football team coach Herve Renard was to be fired.
Speculation about the Frenchman’s future in the job earlier began to mount after Al Riyadh newspaper posted a story on social media platform X claiming Renard would be replaced, after Saudi Arabia failed to reach the final of the FIFA Arab Cup.
Citing “special sources,” the Arabic-language newspaper reported that the federation’s board was considering relieving Renard of his duties, and that a search for the 57-year-old’s replacement would start before preparations begin for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The new manager might be someone working in the Saudi Professional League, the newspaper said, and would be an individual whose standards and objectives match the ambitions of football officials and fans in the Kingdom, and are aligned with the reputation and development of Saudi football.
Shortly after the report appeared, the account @SaudiNews50, which has 21.6 million followers on social media platform X, posted a message, citing SAFF, that said: “Reports of Renard’s dismissal from coaching the Saudi national team are false.”
A little less than two hours after its initial report, Al Riyadh published an update confirming that the federation had sent the newspaper a written denial of the claim that Renard’s job was on the line, and confirming that he would be in charge of the team on Thursday for the Arab Cup third-place play-off against the UAE at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar.
Renard’s contract runs until the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. After the 1-0 defeat by Jordan in Monday’s Arab Cup semifinal at Al-Bayt Stadium, Renard was asked about the possibility he might be sacked and replied: “I have a contract and I will continue my work. I can’t do something if someone else wants to do something else. I’m staying, but if someone tells me my job is finished I’ll go somewhere else. That’s football.”
He said later that the team had “prepared superbly” for the game against Jordan, adding: “The match statistics were clear, as we had 69 percent possession compared to our opponents, who had 31 percent.
“We knew Jordan’s strategy and playing style. We weren’t successful defensively and in creating chances, so we couldn’t maintain the 0-0 draw and we couldn’t score.”
