Bayern's president admits his Kane mistake

If you remember the drama surrounding the transfer of Harry Kane from Tottenham to Bayern Munich two and a half years ago, there quotes from the club’s main man will be interesting to you. Back in August 2023, the Spurs, led by Daniel Levy tried to squeeze as much money as possible for their star player, while Bayern had reservations about this huge sum, considering the age of the player (he was 30 at the time). Eventually, Levy got what he wanted and England’s captain moved to Bavaria for a 100 million euros, plus 10 more in bonuses.

Bayern’s legend, honorary president but in fact the most influential man in the club Uli Hoeness, admitted he was against it, but changed his mind.

“Many thought—100 million for Kane? They’re crazy! I admit, I thought the same. But today… after everything we’ve seen and received, I’d buy him even for €150 million. Harry is a global star, a great person, and a role model for our young players. They improve alongside him. He takes them under his wing, advises them, teaches them… He goes into the smallest details when explaining things. You can’t imagine how valuable that is. I have no problem with players like that costing a lot—they deserve it. What I oppose are huge transfer fees and salaries for players who are not at that level. They should be much, much cheaper” he said at a ceremony organized by Eintracht Frankfurt.

'We will say 'no' to football agents' more often'

Hoeness also continued his outspoken criticism of football agents:

“If a player moves abroad or comes to us, an agent is necessary. Let’s be clear—there are many respectable people in that business, but also many charlatans and parasites. We must work to eliminate those from football. Some of them charge 10 million euros for three lunches or dinners. That’s unacceptable. It’s not normal for an agent to believe they should earn more than the player. Internally, we talk a lot about this and are developing a concept to no longer tolerate such people” he said.

How much is Bayern wealthier than Borussia?

He also addressed the ongoing debate in Bundesliga about the famous 50+1 rule and whether its abolition would benefit German football:

“Look, Bayern is by far the healthiest club in the world. Why? Because we generated everything ourselves. We don’t have a sheikh in Abu Dhabi, a hedge fund in Boston, or a state backing us. We don’t need the 50+1 rule. We sold 25% of our shares to Adidas, Allianz, and Audi. If we wanted to sell more than 30%, we would have to consult our members—we’d need a three-quarters majority, which we wouldn’t get at the assembly. But for clubs like Borussia Monchengladbach, for example, which already have sponsors and could invest properly to improve competitiveness, it would be incredibly useful to allow external investors a chance,” concluded Hoeness.

BUNDESLIGA - MATCHDAY 27

Friday

RB Leipzig - Hoffenheim 5-0 (4-0)

/Gruda 17, 44, Baumgartner 21, 30, Henrichs 78/

Saturday

17.30: (1.17) Bayern (8.00) Union Berlin (14.0)

17.30: (5.00) Heidenheim (4.60) Leverkusen (1.60)

17.30: (2.35) Koln (3.50) M'gladbach (3.15)

17.30: (2.40) Wolfsburg (3.45) Werder (2.90)

20.30: (1.42) Dortmund (5.10) Hamburger (6.75)

Sunday

17.30: (2.20) Mainz (3.50) Eintr.Frankfurt (3.45)

19.30: (2.75) St.Pauli (3.00) Freiburg (2.85)

21.30: (3.30) Augsburg (3.85) Stuttgart (2.05)

***odds are subject to change***