Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeneß is in the spotlight once again on the heels of one of the more dramatic transfer deadline days in recent memory.
Hoeneß, 73, was honored at the DFL gala on Tuesday as the recipient of a German Football League Honorary Award ‘for special and outstanding achievements in German professional football’ — but as the man who built Bayern sees it, the landscape of the sport is shifting in an unsettling direction.
He, for one, was caught flat-footed by the developments
in this transfer window, and took the occasion to voice his opinions on the topic.
“Completely crazy! I’m stunned by what’s been going on in international football over the past six to eight weeks,” Hoeneß said in comments captured by @iMiaSanMia. “[Premier League transfer fees are] completely ridiculous! At some point, the public will say: Are they completely crazy? We in German football must go our own way. I ask everyone in this room never to take the money that spoils everything.”
The money Hoeneß is referring to includes that of gulf states and ‘American hedge funds’, which furnish the transfer war chests of clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City. “The DFL must ensure that Bundesliga clubs never have to accept this money,” Hoeneß exclaimed.
German football is unique for its fan culture and the 50+1 ownership rule — which requires that club members hold majority voting rights, rather than outside investors — and, while treasured, it is not making it easy for Bundesliga clubs to compete in the market. Case in point: Bayern’s pursuit of VfB Stuttgart forward Nick Woltemade was met with rejection after rejection, and then Newcastle United — a club taken over in 2021 by a consortium including the Saudi Public Investment Fund — blew the doors off with a late €85+5M offer.
As much as Bayern wanted their man, that kind of money was never a possibility for a player with Woltemade’s impressive but limited resume.
“I think what’s going on is completely insane,” Hoeneß went on regarding the transfer fee inflation trends, in comments captured via kicker by @iMiaSanMia. “If we’re not careful, people will eventually ask: ‘Are they still sane?’ — I work for €2,000 to €3,000 net a month, and at the same time, €30, €40, €50 million are being spent on average players.”
One thing is for sure: silly season means silly money, and it is all getting sillier and sillier. The pressure is on for Bayern to operate not only judiciously in the transfer market, but precisely. As big a club as Bayern remains in the Bundesliga, it is not one that can afford €50M misses.
