Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Arjen Robben reportedly confirmed on Sunday he will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season after a decade with the defending Bundesliga champions.
“This is my last year at Bayern. It has been 10 wonderful years,” Robben, who turns 35 in January, told a Bayern fan club meeting in Tegernsee, near Munich, according to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
“I think this is the right thing to do and to make it known now.
“There has been discussions about ‘the oldies’ at Bayern and all that stuff.
“I made the decision a few weeks ago and the fans now know where I stand.
“It’s a big step. It’s extraordinary that I can still play at this top level at my age.”
The fleet-footed veteran has, however, left his options open for next season, saying he is “waiting for offers”.
Robben has 143 goals and 101 assists in 305 games for Bayern since joining from Real Madrid in 2009.
He hit the winning goal in the 2013 Champions League final for the Bavarian giants and won the Bundesliga title seven times.
Both Robben and Franck Ribery, 35, are in the final years of their contracts at Bayern and president Uli Hoeness also confirmed Sunday that this is will most probably be the pair’s final year.
“Ribery and Robben are very likely to be in their last year at Bayern,” Hoeness stated, telling Bayern fans to expect transfer next season.
“There will be changes in some positions, we will be very aggressive with our transfer policy, our coffers are well filled.”
Despite his advancing years, Robben proved he is still deadly with the ball at his feet.
He scored the first two stunning goals in last Tuesday’s 5-1 thrashing of Benfica which confirmed Bayern’s place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Robben sat out Saturday’s 2-1 win at Werder Bremen which left defending champions Bayern third in the German league table before Sunday’s matches.
