Bayern Munich Finance Dir Jan-Christian Dreesen has "rejected a recent report" in France Football revealing player Robert Lewandowski's salary, "labeling it 'blatant nonsense,'" according to Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN. The French magazine "claimed Lewandowski is the highest-paid Bundesliga player" and earns €20.2M ($21.8M) per year in salary, bonuses and sponsorship revenue after joining Bayern on a "free transfer" from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Dreesen said, "I think this number is astonishing. It defies any explanation how someone can come up with such a number. The number's just wrong, blatant nonsense." Dreesen "admitted that it's 'not unusual to pay a signing fee' for a free player, but claimed that 'even with the signing fee you will significantly stay under this sum.'" While it is common in other leagues to show salaries, the Bundesliga has always been "very strict about not making individual earnings public." However, a recent court case over unpaid mandatory church taxes during Luca Toni's time at Bayern Munich "laid open the Verona attacker's salary at Munich." The former Italy int'l earned some €14.5M per season between '07 and early '10 (ESPN, 4/8).
