Ballack, Kroos, Alaba: Hoeneß talks about Bayern’s most difficult losses | OneFootball

Uli Hoeneß rarely speaks without a clear message. Now the honorary Bayern president has explained which departures have particularly concerned him, mentioning three prominent names and a decisive attitude

FC Bayern has seen itself in a special role for years, not only in sporting terms, but also strategically. For Uli Hoeneß, a key reason for this is that the record champions generally do not let their most important players leave voluntarily. In an interview with the FAZ , the 74-year-old made it clear that he thinks little of constant buying and selling

When asked about Munich’s dominance in the Bundesliga, Hoeneß said: „For FC Bayern, absolutely not, but for the league, yes. The day will come when we stumble, but then the others have to be there too.“

He then explained the club’s stance on the transfer market: „Many clubs are very proud when they have made a big sale. I’m not a fan of this buying and selling at all. We buy a player for FC Bayern and we don’t want to think about where we’re going to sell him when we sign him.“

„It’s very important to be able to say no sometimes“

photo: IMAGO

Despite this approach, there were also cases at FC Bayern that Hoeneß experienced differently in retrospect. When it was pointed out that transfers are a business model for many clubs, the long-time Bayern boss replied: „But if that’s your business model, you can’t be successful in the long term. We are far ahead of the others in this respect. In all the years I’ve been here, very rarely has a player left that we absolutely wanted to keep.“

Hoeneß cited Michael Ballack, Toni Kroos and David Alaba as examples. Ballack moved to Chelsea FC on a free transfer in 2006, Kroos went to Real Madrid in 2014 after difficult contract talks. Hoeneß said of the future world champion: „But even then we were in control.“ He then described his announcement to Kroos at the time: „I once came across Toni and told him: ‚Toni, you can earn 10 million euros with us. But if you want to earn 10 million and one euro, you have to leave.“ And then he left.“

According to Hoeneß, FC Bayern also stuck to its line with Alaba. The Austrian also left Munich for Real Madrid on a free transfer in 2021 after the two sides were unable to agree on a new contract. Hoeneß nevertheless emphasized the personal connection: „He is the only player who still calls us on Christmas Eve.“

At the same time, the honorary president made it clear that, in his view, sympathy should not override every decision. Hoeneß said of the club’s position at the time: „But I also told him: ‚This is our offer, and if you don’t accept it, you have to go.‘ It’s very important to be able to say no sometimes.“