Is it time for Robert Lewandowski to finally leave Bayern Munich?

We’re only in October, but it’s fair to say that it’s been a tough month for Bayern Munich. Poor performances led to the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti, following a defeat against Paris Saint-Germain, while the board, namely CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is growing increasingly frustrated with their star forward, Robert Lewandowski.

The Poland international criticised the club for their transfer policy throughout the summer with Bayern Munich arguably only signing James Rodriguez as their big-name player, despite the arrivals of Niklas Sule, Sebastian Rudy and Corentin Tolisso.

In an interview with Spiegel Online, Lewandowski demanded that more world-class players need to arrive at Bayern Munich if their ambition is to win the UEFA Champions League.

“Bayern will have to come up with something and be creative if the club wants to keep bringing world-class players to Munich. And if you want to compete at the top, you need to have these quality players,"

said Lewandowski.

"To date, Bayern Munich have never spent more than around €40 million for a player. In international football that has long since been more of an average [price] than a top price."

Reacting to the interview, Rummenigge told Bild:

“It would be a shame if he sees things that way. Loyalty is in the Bayern DNA and important to our fans.

"Clearly Robert has been affected by the PSG transfers. Nevertheless, he is employed by us as a footballer and earns a lot of money. I regret his comments. Anybody who criticises the trainer, the club or his teammates will immediately be in trouble with me personally."

Certainly, from the outside looking in it’s as though things are starting to turn sour between the pair.

Lewandowski’s agent, Maik Barthel, hit out at his both Ancelotti and the Pole’s teammates last season for failing to help him finish ahead of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the race to finish as top scorer in Germany.

This then resulted in rumours of a move to Real Madrid and with things looking rife at Bayern Munich at the minute, it may be time for Lewandowski to look at a transfer away from the Bundesliga champions.

Will Robert Lewandowski choose to leave Bavaria this season?

With the dismissal of Ancelotti following a revolt by five senior players and one of which was Lewandowski, according to Kicker, Bayern Munich are undergoing a period of change. Willy Sagnol has been installed as an interim head coach while it’s expected the club will make a move for either former Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel, or Julian Nagelsmann.

If it’s the Champions League that the 29-year-old desires, then perhaps, it’s time to move on. The likelihood of Bayern winning the European competition this season is extremely unlikely given the aforementioned period of change and thus a move could be on the horizon.

Already five points behind Peter Bosz’ Borussia Dortmund after just seven games, it’s going to be fairly difficult to retain their Bundesliga crown with their league rivals playing impressive football at the minute.

Former Bayern Munich captain Stefan Effenberg has already called for him to be sold following his “attack” on the club, while there’ll be no shortage of elite clubs after his signature.

Robert Lewandowski has been subject to outrage following his comments

You only have to take a look at Paris Saint-Germain to see that transfer fees are spiralling out of control, too. With Neymar joining for €222m and Kylian Mbappe for a reported €165m on a permanent deal next summer when his loan ends, you would expect Lewandowski to fetch a fee somewhere between the two figures, despite being 29.

For a team of Bayern's stature, that's a fair amount of money for an ageing figure and one that could be used wisely to re-invest in the club - it could be worth the German club listening to offers.

Notably, a plethora of top clubs have expressed interest in signing the striker before, and are bound to be put on red-alert following these latest developments. Should the situation within Bayern sour even further, it won't be long before lurking clubs come flying down with the hope to lure the striker away.

Both Manchester United and Chelsea wanted Lewandowski in the summer, while Real Madrid could be a serious option, should the opportunity arise. Only time will tell where Bayern’s 122 goal hitman will end up, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him depart in the summer.