Lewandowski slams Bayern chiefs while revealing why he wanted to leave

Robert Lewandowski has taken a shot at the directors of Bayern Munich, claiming they failed to protect him when he was being heavily criticised.

Although the Poland striker has scored 155 goals in 197 matches for the Bavarian side, he was the subject of scrutiny last spring, despite finishing as the Bundesliga’s top marksman with 29 goals.

After the board seemingly failed to shield him from the critics, he grew unhappy, made clear his willingness to depart and was linked with clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain .

Bayern, however, took a strong line and said they would not sell him, even if they were offered huge money.

The Pole, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Tuesday, has remained at the Allianz Arena, but that did not stop him from taking aim at the club’s leaders in Sport Bild .

“In April and May everyone criticised me. And I felt no protection from the club, I felt alone,” he admitted.

“I scored no goals in two or three important games and suddenly everyone was saying: ‘Open fire against Lewandowski!’ I did not see anyone who supported me at the time. Neither of the club bosses defended me. I did not feel good in Munich at that moment. Being at Bayern did not fit for me at that time.”

The U-turn was prompted by the support that the forward got from the stands and now the former Borussia Dortmund striker is not thinking about a move.

“I noticed that in Munich the fans support me. I realised that they still want me here. I will never strike, never mess with the club. I’m not wasting any thought on another club now.”

Lewandowski has made a formidable start to the 2018-19 season, bagging a hat-trick in the DFL Super Cup victory over Eintracht Frankfurt then getting the only goal of the game as FCB saw off SV Drochtersen 1-0 in the DFB Pokal last weekend.

On Friday, Bayern’s defence of their Bundesliga crown begins with a home encounter against Hoffenheim, and Lewandowski is fully expected to spearhead their attack in that clash.

He already has six Bundesliga titles to his name, winning two with Dortmund before claiming the last four with FCB.