Hoeneß rails against Man City and PSG: "If we beat them, I'm thrilled as hell."
Speaking on the "11 Leben" podcast, Bayern's honorary President Uli Hoeneß (true to form) supplied expletive-laced diatribes on topics ranging from the Bayern's dominance in the German domestic league, investigations into potential bribery, and the rise of super-clubs PSG and Man City.
As German football enthusiasts know, cognitive dissonance was never Bayern's now semi-retired honorary President strong suit. When Uli Hoeneß slowly began to step out of the limelight in late 2019, very few expected that the long-time football functionary would step out of the headlines.
Speaking on a podcast that aired on Friday, the now 69-year-old German footballing mainstay gave rambling answers to various questions associated with his life's work. A question about his club's nine consecutive Bundesliga titles quickly turned into a rant.
"That's a tiresome discussion," Hoeneß noted before launching into some wild hypotheticals, "Should we close down our business until the Bundesliga becomes more exciting again, or should we play with ten men in the future? I'll be damned if, after going up 3-0, we'll play with six men thereafter."
There were also questions about the 2006 World Cup held in Germany. There were light investigations into whether German footballing dignitaries like Hoeneß art Fans Beckenbauer bribed FIFA officials during the bid. Beckenbauer did ultimately receive a 90-day-ban from footballing activities in 2014 after it was determined that he did not cooperate properly with the investigation.
Germany's "Kaiser" was then the focus of a separate ethics inquiry concerning potential bribes he took for his vote in Russia's bid to host the 2018 World Cup. All investigations were recently closed after the statute of limitations of both cases were closed.
"The 2006 World Cup was not bought," Hoeneß insisted in a combative tone, "Beckenbauer knew nothing of anything. Not a soul believed in any bribery related to the World Cup at the time. I also didn't see anything. One hundred percent no."
Hoeneß didn't answer any direct questions on his own tax evasion charges related to his bratwurst factory, for which he actually served prison time between 2014 and 2016. There were nevertheless questions about Bayern accepting money to play exhibition matches in front of foreign crowds, in some cases in countries with dubious human rights records.
"We got crazy money to play these games," Hoeneß noted, "So we went there any played. When someone tenders me an offer on that scale, I don't hesitate. We [Bayern] have an absolute clear conscience."
Interestingly, and perhaps quite ironically, Hoeneß saved most of his trademark belligerence for European football clubs bankrolled by Gulf State Emirates. During a week when Bayern's own sponsorship agreement with Qatar has been front-and-center in the discourse, Hoeneß opted to completely lambast Manchester City's U.A.E. and PSG's Qatari connections.
"What have they won?" Hoeneß asked before saying, "So far they have won nothing, not a single Champions' League title have these two clubs won, not a single one! If we win against them, I'm thrilled as hell. Bayern needs to show them that their f***ing money isn't good enough!"
Bayern's honorary President was also asked to compare himself with PSG club boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
"I worked hard for money and he got his as a gift," Hoeneß noted.