Thomas Muller understands why Bayern sold Lewandowski to Barcelona

Leaving a significant void in Bayern's attack ahead of the 2022-23 season,

pushed for a move away from the Bavarians as he reached the last year of his contract, resulting in a €50m move to Barcelona. However, Muller has defended the club's decision to allow Lewandowski to leave.

"

All parties decided that Lewy should leave the club, there were good reasons for that,"

he told

.

"But, without a doubt, we don't know what to expect when a player who has always scored between 30 and 50 goals per season is no longer with us on the field.

"There was no plan to always play for him, but when you know you have a striker like that, you do it. Now things will change, and it will be exciting to see how our attack develops."

The former Liverpool forward

joined Bayern as the Polish striker’s replacement while the Bavarians used the cash earned from Lewandowski's transfer to sign Juventus centre-back De Ligt. They have also signed midfielder Ryan Gravenberch and right-back Noussair Mazraoui from Ajax this summer.

Muller

identified occasions in the past where the club has coped with similar high-profile departures.

"We're not going to play with ten simply because Lewy left,"

Muller said.

"Now there will be opportunities and scoring chances for other players. Maybe we score less, but that doesn't mean we won't succeed as a team.

"For example, Mario Mandzukic replaced Mario Gomez in 2012. Mandzukic didn't get the records Gomez had, but we won the treble and were invincible as a team."

Heading into his 15th season as a Bayern player Muller added:

"[It's good] that something is also stirring at BVB. It is not known whether BVB will now score ten more point. But it's good for the league. There is anticipation and excitement in the air."

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