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

He was a great player. And an even better executive. Never mind that he himself liked to bend the law when it didn’t suit him to pay taxes. No one in the football world can doubt Uli Hoeness’s knowledge or authority — especially since his actions often back up his words. And in his latest interview with Bild, the honorary president and chairman of Bayern’s supervisory board launched a particularly sharp attack on football agents. All because of Dayot Upamecano.

The reason is well known: negotiations with the experienced center-back nearly collapsed after the player’s agents inserted a clause demanding a 20 million euros signing bonus. Bayern were even willing to spread that amount over four years, but when the agents insisted on immediate payment, the typically strict Germans halted talks. The contract was ultimately signed only after Upamecano himself called to say he would accept whatever Bayern offered. But the “blackmail,” as it was perceived in Munich, was not forgotten.

“I’ll refrain from commenting on the figures. However, Herbert Hainer, Max Eberl, Jan Dreesen, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and I discussed that contract for days. And we will still address the whole issue with the agents. We will no longer tolerate agents dictating how business is done. Their contribution is wildly disproportionate to the money they demand. They earn too much for what they actually do. For some of them, the job amounts to no more than three lunches with us” Hoeness said angrily.

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Clearly, it hurt his pride — and Hoeness‘ pride is formidable.

“We will say ‘no’ more and more often. We refuse to take part in this madness. We may even tell players: ‘If your agent continues to behave scandalously, we will no longer negotiate your future with us.’ It may have to go that far.”

Hoeness is not the first club executive enraged by greedy agents. Matthias Sammer once even suggested abolishing them, as some were demanding more money than the sporting directors sitting across the table from them.

“Do you know what’s most outrageous? In Upamecano’s case, the agents wanted either to drive up the price for us or push him toward another club. And then, as thanks for not doing so, we were supposed to pay them a signing bonus. That’s contradictory. We shouldn’t accept that anymore.”

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In the end, Upamecano himself made the call — though it remains an open question whether he would have done so had Bayern not first broken off negotiations. Did that firm “no” to the agents have the desired effect?

“That ‘no’ will be heard more often in the future. Everyone at the club agrees. We could even put certain agents on a list — if they behave improperly — and tell them we will no longer sign players they represent. That could be the next step.”

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Fortunately, there are positive examples.

“Yes, take Luis Díaz’s agent, for instance. He fought hard to bring him from Liverpool, which was very difficult. He invested everything in his client and always spoke honestly and openly with Liverpool. We’re happy to have such a man.”

One could debate whether that makes him “good” simply because he worked in Bayern’s interest — but that’s another topic. After all, Hoeness‘ job is to protect the Bavarian giant’s interests, and he has been doing so for 45 years. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, another club legend, has been involved somewhat less — around 35 years. Until when?

“Until we feel that the personnel situation at the club is organized so well that we can sit back in the stands and not worry for the next 10 to 15 years. That has always been our vision. It worked perfectly with our sausage factory, which my wife and I handed over to our children 12 years ago. Of course, things don’t always go that way. That was the case at Bayern too. I value Oliver Kahn highly as a person, but it simply didn’t fit.”

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Jan Dreesen is now CEO, widely praised, supported by an advisory board, and things are running smoothly. Ideally, Hoeness would also like…

“In an ideal scenario, there would also be a former top-level player like Karl-Heinz, willing to invest himself in the club. The big question is whether a player who earned €50 or €60 million during his career would take on such a role today.”

Perhaps Manuel Neuer or Thomas Muller?

“I haven’t sensed that Manuel is interested. If he were, we would certainly talk. The same applies to Muller. I’ve already offered him management training. You can’t end your playing career one day and the next negotiate €100 million contracts and manage hundreds of employees. The idea was for him to intern at major corporations and big clubs in Europe and the U.S. He was open in principle — just not right now.”

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For now, Bayern continue as before — not always in the way fans would prefer. This season, for example, they signed only Luis Díaz among high-profile reinforcements, even though they had money for more. In the end, it proved the right decision, while some young talents were promoted. Hoeness has an interesting explanation:

“We deliberately gave young players a chance. If we had signed more players, the coach would have had to use them — and then maybe Lennart Karl, Stanišić or Pavlović wouldn’t have played as much. Our success confirms our belief that Bayern must follow this path. That’s why we won’t make major transfers this June either. Our motto is: transfers must not lead us into debt. There is no room for compromise.”

Finally, about Thomas Tuchel — through answers to seemingly unrelated questions. For example, which of Bayern’s former coaches is more likely to win the 2026 World Cup: Tuchel or Julian Nagelsmann?

“I can’t imagine England winning the title right now. If players like Musiala, Wirtz and Woltemade are in form at the World Cup, we can go very, very far.”

Hoenes also mentioned Tuchel when asked about current coach Vincent Kompany:

“It’s like we won the lottery with Kompany. He succeeded in exactly what Tuchel didn’t — although I consider Tuchel a very intelligent man. Vincent immediately established a connection with the players and never demanded a ‘number six’ of specific characteristics — or any other player. He points out problems internally, but would never air them publicly. He strengthens our players instead of weakening their morale. He’s the most popular Bayern coach in a long time.”

Tuchel clearly wasn’t popular with Hoeness, as he brought him up again when discussing a potential new contract for sporting director Max Eberl, whose current deal runs until 2027:

“We have a very good, open relationship. That doesn’t mean there won’t be criticism. Honest and open discussions have always been Bayern’s trademark. The entire sporting department with Eberl, Christoph Freund and Kompany has developed well in recent months. It works. With Thomas Tuchel, it didn’t work at all.”