Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has claimed that his club tried to sign Robert Lewandowski "for several years" but were unable to convince Bayern Munich to sell the centre-forward.

Lewandowski has scored 198 times in 247 appearances for Bayern in all competitions, including seven goals in five outings during a strong start to the 2019-20 campaign.

The Poland international has also struck at least 40 goals in four of his five full seasons with the club.

Perez has admitted that Madrid had been desperate to bring the forward to the Bernabeu before eventually admitting defeat due to Bayern's unwillingness to sell.

"There are players who don't get sold. We went for Lewandowski for several years and nothing happened because he has no clause and they [Bayern Munich] won't sell him. There's no way," Marca quotes Perez as saying.

The 31-year-old, who has also been linked with the Premier League over the last few seasons, signed a new four-contract at the Allianz Arena last month.