Breaking Down the Importance of New Deals for Robben, Ribery and Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben have been synonymous with the overwhelming, almost obscene success of Bayern Munich in recent times. 

The trio's on-pitch contributions have been massive—they have picked up a pair of Bundesliga titles and a DFB Pokal together since Lewy's arrival in 2014—while "Robbery" have a further three winners' medals for each competition and a UEFA Champions League triumph to boot.

With the three responsible for that sort of silverware haul, it is no wonder Bayern are considering tying them down for longer. But how much sense does it actually make?

Arjen Robben: The Flying but Fragile Dutchman

The Dutchman's stats speak for themselves. In 147 Bundesliga games, he has been part of 128 Bayern goals, scoring 80 himself. That is a mighty fine record by anyone's standards. Mighty fine indeed.

The former PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea and Real Madrid man is arguably playing some of the best football of his career at the moment. In just five league appearances this term, three goals and two assists have come, and his entente with Lewandowski—"Robbendowski" is the new black in German football—is clear for all to see, most recently in last weekend's defeat of FC Augsburg.

Not only has he been brilliant in domestic action, the UEFA Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven was a Robben masterclass. Yes, perhaps he was more inspired than usual given he was up against the team where he first made his name, but a goal and two assists were a more-than-adequate return from an evening at the office.

What is more, Robben appears to have taken on an extra dimension off the pitch, too. Mark van Bommel, a former Bayern captain and international team-mate of Robben, was an eloquent and self-aware speaker off the pitch in his role, and though Robben has not exactly shied away from the media in the past, he now appears to willingly have taken on a more "senior" role within the squad.

"I could have played for longer than 45 minutes, and I'm happy about that," he told Kicker after the recent draw with Eintracht Frankfurt that provoked the wrath of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern CEO. "But I can't be happy when it concerns the team. We can't play like that again, something has to change."

Robben has the gravitas in terms of his reputation as a player, the clubs he has been at and the medals he has won to take on that responsibility. With the likes of Philipp Lahm and Thomas Muller, as well as Xabi Alonso and—almost certainly in time—Mats Hummels, Robben is able to eloquently express what needs to be done while also saying it with the firmness to ensure it is done.

Those sorts of players are precious for any coach, not just Carlo Ancelotti, while they also project a positive image of Bayern—no small bonus for those in the Allianz Arena boardroom.

On current form and for his role as a dressing-room leader, the contract extension is a no-brainer.

But, on the other hand, the stats speak for themselves in other ways. Robben is 32 years old—33 in January—which is not necessarily a huge obstacle in itself as Ancelotti's reverence for the older man in football boots is well documented. It is rather the fragile nature of that man in those boots that is the issue.

Yes, Robben's contribution to the team when he has been on the pitch since 2009 has been huge. The key part of that sentence is "when he has been on the pitch." Robben has missed 135 games in that time—when you consider that a Bundesliga season is 34 matches, that is quite a significant chunk.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

With his age, it is hardly likely to improve. German media are talking about a two-year extension, which would mean he will be 35 in 2019, surely marking the end of his career or heralding his departure for a football league sunnier and less demanding than the Bundesliga.

But where will Kingsley Coman and Douglas Costa be then? With Ancelotti's clear preference for Robben—and Ribery—as his wide players, and the status "CoCo" achieved last season, the younger duo will certainly not hang around until 2019 to become first-team regulars.

Surely, a one-year deal would be better to ensure a smooth transition between Bayern's past and future and give "Coco" the benefit of another 12 months of Robben's experience.

Franck Ribery: 12 months too much

"You're never too old to score a header," Robben had remarked to Kicker with an impish grin after netting his first headed UEFA Champions League goal against PSV. Perhaps not, but you might well be too old to have a two-year contract extension.

The latter point applies all the more to Ribery, who is nearly a year older than Robben. The former France international turns 34 in April, and—worryingly for Ancelotti, though not unsurprisingly—has taken on some of the traits of his Dutch counterpart. Injury after injury has prevented him making a concerted contribution in the last couple of seasons.

There is no doubt Ribery deserves his place in the pantheon—and boy, what a pantheon!—of Bayern greats. In 211 league games, he has been involved in 182 goals, netting 72 of them. But having been one of the most sturdy of the Bayern squad, Ribery is now a geriatric in football terms, and his injury record shows it.

Before 2013/14, he had just two serious injury lay-offs—missing 12 games in 2009/10 with a patella tendon problem and 10 matches in 10/11 with an ankle ligament problem. In the last three seasons, however, he has missed a combined 100 games. You could justifiably argue that Robben has missed and will miss as many as Ribery and that the pair are just as productive as each other.

But you know what you get with Robben, who has always been in and out of the treatment room throughout his career. Ribery's problems smack more of a man in terminal decline, a slow decline perhaps but an inexorable one nonetheless.

How much will Ribery's "special relationship"—as the player himself described it, per Niklas Konig of goal.com—with Ancelotti affect the latter's judgement when it comes to team selection? Ribery's antipathy for Pep Guardiola is public knowledge, but he has been gushing in his praise of his new boss.

"Ancelotti is a champion in all respects," Ribery told Konig. "Otherwise it would be impossible to create such a harmonious atmosphere. That's how you are successful together."

It is "harmonious" for Ribery right now, and it is working for Bayern in the short term. How much influence Ancelotti has had on the decision to give "Robbery" two-year extensions is unclear, though you suspect it is a great deal.

But to an even greater extent than Robben, the older man is barring the way for the younger talents. Ribery still has his uses coming off the bench or filling in for his more junior but no less talented colleagues, but again, a two-year deal is surely 12 months too long.

Lewandowski: The deal that must be done

Lewandowski's case is different. The Poland international is under contract until 2019, and another two years added to that deal is certainly no bad thing. In fact, it is vital.

With 54 goals in 72 Bundesliga matches—let us not even worry about the 13 assists—Lewandowski is invaluable to the Bayern system.

"I wouldn't swap Robert for anyone," said Ancelotti in a recent interview with Damien Degorre of l'Equipe.

And even if he wanted to, the former Chelsea boss would struggle to find an adequate like-for-like replacement. There really is no-one else in world football who can play that role that makes him so suited to Bayern: part goalscoring machine, part "big man up front" as he holds it up, part playmaker as he drops off, links up play and sets up others.

Should Lewandowski sign through to 2021, the 28-year-old would join Manuel Neuer, 30, Mats Hummels , 27, Jerome Boateng, 28, Javi Martinez, 28, David Alaba, 24, and Renato Sanches, 19, in having a long-term deal through until then with Bayern. That provides a solid platform on which to build, something every club—great and small—aspires to.

"Things are looking good," Rummenigge told Sport Bild, via beinsports.com, when questioned about negotiations over Lewandowski. "Talks have been ongoing for a number of days and we have gotten off to a good start. And what goes on for a while usually results in something good..."

All in all then, a contract extension for the former Borussia Dortmund forward is an excellent prospect for the club, though the more cynical among you—and myself if I am being honest—might suggest it also ensures something else.

Next summer, when Real Madrid come knocking again, it will require an even bigger sum to take Lewy to the Spanish capital.