Real Madrid Transfer News: Robert Lewandowski Interest Confirmed, Latest Rumours

Bayern Munich legend Franz Beckenbauer has confirmed there is genuine interest from Real Madrid in the club’s star striker Robert Lewandowski.

Rumours have been gathering pace about the 27-year-old’s long-term future at the Allianz Arena, and the German football icon revealed he is on the radar of the Spanish giants. “Robert Lewandowski has been mentioned as a possible candidate for Real Madrid,” he said, per the Daily Telegraph.

As noted in the aforementioned piece, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have also been linked with the centre-forward. Here’s why he’s rated as one of the top players in world football:

Indeed, as we can see here courtesy of Bleacher Report UK, although the Bayern Munich striker didn’t make it into the final three-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or award recently, he couldn’t have been any closer:

Looking at the names surrounding the Pole, with Barcelona star Luis Suarez receiving fewer votes than him, it’s clear he’s among the finest footballers around.

Having enjoyed a rapid rise under Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, Lewandowski has been moulded into an even better player at Bayern Munich under Pep Guardiola. His touch, awareness of players around him and movement around the penalty area makes the striker such a tough opponent for defenders to cope with.

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Of course, his goalscoring is pretty remarkable, too. As we can see here courtesy of MisterChip, in 2015 Lewandowski was one of the most prolific players in European football:

For Real Madrid, he ticks all the boxes. Lewandowski is on the cusp of the prime years of his career and one of the game’s best goalscorers. They’re one of a select few teams in world football who have the money to potentially force Bayern into cashing in on the striker, too.

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However, there are some major obstacles that are likely to make this deal tough for Real. Firstly, Bayern are in a strong position financially, meaning they are under no pressure to sell. Secondly, pending an appeal, the Spanish giants will be banned from signing players for a year from this summer onwards.

Additionally, Lewandowski himself seems happy at Bayern and contented that the club is going places, per Bild (h/t Alex Chaffer of FourFourTwo):

Real could do with another centre-forward, with Karim Benzema the only natural fit for the lone striker role. However, the same situation also applies to Bayern. Thomas Muller, who is at his best in a more withdrawn position, is the only back-up for Lewandowski; finding someone to fill the void the Poland international would leave wouldn’t be easy.

Incoming manager Carlo Ancelotti wouldn’t want to lose such a class player in the opening weeks of his tenure either. So while it’d be no great surprise to see Real pursue Lewandowski in the summer if their transfer ban is temporarily put on hold, Bayern moving on their main goalscoring threat would be a big gamble at a key point for the club.