Bayern Munich are growing increasingly concerned that star-striker Robert Lewandowski will take legal action as he continues to push for a move out of Germany.
The Polish striker made his desires to leave the club clear with the Bayern hierarchy after refusing to extend his current contract that comes to an end in summer 2023.
But with Lewandowski trying to force an early exit in the upcoming transfer window, and with Barcelona interested in his services, the German club are worried the striker will take legal action.
According to Bild, Bayern fear that Lewandowski will resort to legal means that no top star has dared to use before.
Article 17 of FIFA's Regulations states any player who signed a contract before the age of 28 can buy himself out of the contract three years after the deal was signed - a fact that Lewandowski's agent Pini Zahavi knows well.
The term has been labelled the 'Webster Ruling' after Andy Webster set the precedent during his move from Hearts of Midlothian to Wigan Athletic in 2006. The rule states that any player that does chose this option, must provide the club with a form of compensation.
If Lewandowski were to terminate his deal, he would only have to compensate Bayern with the salary of his last year of the contract - estimated at €24 million.
This would be considerably less than what Barcelona are willing to offer for the Pole, with the Catalan side said to be ready to fork up a €32m fee.
Lewandowski's intentions to join Barcelona were made clear after his agent Zahavi told Bild: 'For Robert Lewandowski, FC Bayern is history. Robert wants to leave FC Bayern after eight years in which he gave the club everything.
'Now, at almost 34, he has the opportunity to fulfill a lifetime dream and join the club he always dreamed of.
'Why is FC Bayern denying him this opportunity? For Robert, the matter is very clear: he wants to leave FC Bayern this summer. Nobody cares about money here, neither Robert nor me.'
The 33-year-old forward has contributed to eight of Bayern's 10 straight German titles and has been the Bundesliga's top scorer in six of those campaigns.
