Lewandowski might go on strike against Bayern to force exit

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has made no secret of his desire to leave the club despite still having a year left on his contract. He has made it clear that he does not wish to sign a contract extension, but he may now resort to drastic measures in order to force the club to sanction his move.

Spanish side FC Barcelona is believed to be Lewandowski's preferred destination, and the Catalan giants are also keen to have the prolific striker within their ranks. However, Bayern has no intention to sell, even if they risk losing the Polish star on a free transfer at the end of next season.

According to an interview with the Daily Mail, Lewandowski's former agent Maik Barthel would not put it past the player to go AWOL during pre-season training. He thinks that Lewandowski may go on strike to force Bayern to let him go.

"It was already considered that he would not appear for training," Barthel said. "I trust Robert not to show up for training," he added.

Pre-season begins on July 12th, but Bayern Munich officials are fully expecting the player to show up to fulfil his duty. "I don't think about that at all," said Uli Hoeness about the possible strike. "He has a contract, and we are a constitutional state. We have decided that we will not let him go. Unless we could have found a replacement."

Bayern executives have echoed the same tune, often reminding Lewandowski about his contract and how one is allowed to change terms of a legal agreement simply on a whim. The club fully intends to hold on to the player, despite having already signed Sadio Mane from Liverpool this summer.

FC Barcelona meanwhile, are planning to send in another offer to tempt the Germans into selling. Now that they have facilitated the sale of a portion of their TV rights, they are expected to be able to put down an offer closer to the German club's asking price of at least 60 million euros.