Bayern Munich greats Lothar Matthaus and Stefan Effenberg have slammed the Bundesliga side for dilly-dallying over offering a new deal to club talisman Robert Lewandowski.
According to football website Goal.com, Bayern have yet to start talks with the Pole's agent Pini Zahavi, and that is causing deep anxiety among a number of the club's admirers, including Matthaus and Effenberg.
Matthaus believes that the reigning Bundesliga champions would be the ultimate losers if Lewandowski were to exit the club, bearing in mind how many goals he has scored for them, Effenberg was much more scathing about the side, blaming their lackadaisical attitude for the current impasse.
"If you haven't contacted Lewandowski's people yet, I find that disrespectful. Bayern can count themselves lucky that Lewandowski is such a gentleman and a complete professional," Matthaus told German publication Das Bild in an interview.
"I am surprised that nothing is progressing. You shouldn't put everything in the drawer and then just wait and see," he added.
Meanwhile, Effenberg declared that if the club were to fail to prevent the Poland captain from leaving, it could easily be the "worst decision" in the history of the Bundesliga outfit.
"If Bayern don't try to extend Lewandowski's contract, it will be the worst decision in the club's history," he wrote in his column for media outlet T-Online.
There's no doubt that the 33-year-old footballer has been among the most prolific scorers in the world in the past decade, single-handedly delivering the UEFA Champions League title in 2020 and several trophies in the Bundesliga to the German team.
Despite a lack of talks over a new contract, Lewandowski's form has remained untouched, even this season. He has hit the net 45 times in 38 games. Last month, Lewandowski recorded his seventh consecutive season of 40+ goals.