Robert Lewandowski cools war of words with Bayern Munich
By Tom Gott
Robert Lewandowski has attempted to calm tensions between himself and former club Bayern Munich after his ugly departure from the Bundesliga side this summer.
The Poland international joined Barcelona after publicly admitting his relationship with Bayern had completely broken down, with those in charge at both clubs also getting embroiled in a war of words and Bayern accusing Lewandowski of 'closing the door with his behind' after leaving the Bavaria.
It was an uncomfortable end to a famous eight-year spell at Bayern for Lewandowski, but now that the dust has settled, the striker has done his best to calm things down.
"The club and the city mean a lot to me, my two daughters were born in Munich and we said goodbye to everybody," Lewandowski told Sport1.
"There are no two opinions about my sporting time at FC Bayern.
"What we have experienced together as a team in eight years, nobody can and will take that away from us. When I think back to the five goals against Wolfsburg, the 41 goals in the Bundesliga or the sextuple with Hansi Flick...those were wonderful moments."
On his departure, he added: "It is what it is. We made history together and I always gave 100%. There wasn't a day that I sat back. The people in charge know that too. Mutual gratitude, mutual respect - that's how we stayed together. FC Bayern will always be in my heart."
As he bid farewell to the Bundesliga champions, Lewandowski admitted he felt nothing but gratitude and positivity from those in charge at the Allianz Arena.
"Only good things [were said]," he explained. "We exchanged friendly words, shook hands. In the end, the positive outweighs the negative. I spoke to everyone again: Hasan [Salihamidzic], Oli [Kahn], also Uli Hoeness.
"[Hoeness] said that he always has an open ear for me and that I can always call him if I need something. That was very nice, he is a great personality and I am grateful to him, but also to all the other people on the board. It was important to me that nothing negative should stick to the farewell.
"I know that [asking to leave] hurt a lot of fans. I can understand that and now I only apologise for that. At that moment it was important and necessary for me to make it clear that I am ready for a change. At the end of the day, we're all only human, right?
"After twelve years in Germany it was clear to me: I'm done here. I wanted to make that clear - because of course it wasn't easy for FC Bayern to agree to a sale during this phase. It was a difficult situation for everyone involved and we had to find the best solution."
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Lewandowski also clarified that he never clashed with manager Julian Nagelsmann and has nothing but praise for the Bayern boss.
"I was always very clear with the coach," he explained. "Anyone who knows me knows that I speak clearly about what is on my mind. I also told him my opinion and, in the end, he understood me better and better.
"I have to say, I never had any personal problems with Julian and I never publicly criticised him or his tactics. We talked to each other a lot, the exchange was very close. It's just part of the game that you don't always agree on the pitch.
"But I never said a bad word about Julian or to Julian. I know he has great potential as a coach. He can and will certainly win many more trophies."