Robert Lewandowski claims he received "several offers" in the close-season but never expected Bayern Munich to sell him, even after he criticised the club's hierarchy.
The Poland striker made public his unhappiness at the Allianz Arena in August as he accused Bayern of failing to provide adequate support during a brief slump in form last season.
Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain were reportedly interested, but Bayern held firm in their stance against a sale, despite the 30-year-old's insistence on airing his grievances.
Lewandowski admits he never anticipated he would be sold but felt obliged to speak out due to the "strange atmosphere" at the club.
"There were some things at Bayern which I did not like, and I wanted to talk about that. I had several offers from different clubs," Lewandowski told Sportowe Fakty.
"When I realised there was a strange atmosphere around me between the media and the club, I decided to talk about it.
"I wanted to make a statement by saying: 'If there are so many people who are not satisfied with me, I might as well leave'.
"Still, I knew that Bayern's answer would be 'no, no and no', no matter what kind of offer was made."
in 2011, Robert Lewandowski made his debut... to when scored his 50th UEFA club competition goal September 13, 2018
Lewandowski has since struck three goals in six Bundesliga starts for the underperforming champions and insists he is content to stay at the club and fight for trophies.
"I can't say I am disappointed. I am still at one of the best clubs in the world," he said.
"Maybe Bayern's popularity worldwide is a little lower than with other top clubs. But if I was not happy here, I'd have a problem.
"I will still fight for the biggest goals. The season is long, and we can play at the highest level, even though there are currently many things which we need to improve."
