Robert Lewandowski insists he will continue to give his all to Borussia Dortmund this season, despite agreeing a deal with Bayern Munich in the summer.
The Poland international was said to be close to joining the reigning Bundesliga champions during the summer, but having already lost Mario Gotze to the Allianz Arena, Dortmund refused to let their star striker follow suit. But with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, the 25 was able to negotiate his own deal this month.
And, as expected, Bayern announced that Lewandowski has signed a five-year deal with them and will link up with his new team-mates ahead of next season. As inevitable as this was, it is still a disappointment to the Dortmund fans, but the player has penned an open letter to reassure them he will give his all for the rest of the campaign.
“Dear Borussia Dortmund fans, I would like to say a few words to you,” a post on the official club website reads. “With half a year to go, there are still some goals we want to achieve together. I hope you will support me, even if some of you don’t agree with my decision! I for one will give my all for BVB – Yours, Robert Lewandowski.”
Bayern, who beat Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley last season, are currently seven points clear in their defence of the league title, whilst Lewandowski’s current club are well off the pace in fourth place. That Pep Guardiola’s side has been able to take the star player from one of their rival clubs doesn’t augur well for the competitiveness of the league, but Jurgen Klopp insists his team can recover from the blow.
“Players can always be bought by other teams, but Borussia Dortmund are bigger than any player,” said the Dortmund coach. “Things will go on, I have no doubt about that. Robert’s decision is perfectly fine with us. We knew about his decision to leave for quite some time. Robert has never looked as if he wasn’t focused on Dortmund. That his next club is official now is perfect timing. There would only have been a lot of speculation otherwise.”
