Rummenigge and Beckenbauer pay tribute to Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness

To date, Uli Hoeness has now been working for Bayern Munich’s front office for 40 years after spending almost 9 years with the club during his playing career, scoring 86 goals in a total of 239 appearances. Since hanging up his boots as a player in 1979, Hoeness has served as the club’s general manager, chairman of the board of Bayern Munich AG, and president.

Hoeness is a big part of what’s made Bayern both financially and commercially successful. As of last summer, per Forbes, the club boasts a net value of approximately €2.6 billion. Speaking on Hoeness’s 40th anniversary of working in the club’s management, both Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Franz Beckenbauer offered praise for all the work their compatriot has put into the club throughout the years (Sport.de).

Beckenbauer, who spent 13 years as a player with Bayern from 1964-1977, said that Hoeness embodies everything that is Bayern Munich:

Uli Hoeness is a godsend for FC Bayern. He was as a player and he is as a manager, president, and chairman. What the club is today and what values it stands for are to a large part thanks to him, his expertise, his engagement, his competence. We may consider ourselves lucky to have him.

Rummenigge went on to describe Hoeness as a “pioneer” who had to work from the ground up to reinvent the club:

Uli Hoeness is a pioneer of FC Bayern. In 1979, he had to reinvent the club considerably. The world of FC Bayern was not so rosy as it is today when he first began to serve — but Uli was restless, shrewd, and creative as a manager. He had to put everything on a new footing. For ever 40 years, he has been the biggest fan of FC Bayern, just recently at the 5-0 over Dortmund I had to grin at the way he celebrated — like a little boy. That’s how he was, how he is, and how he’ll always be: FC Bayern is his life.

Earlier this month, Hoeness confirmed that Oliver Kahn will step in as the club’s CEO, taking over for Rummenigge. When asked about his own future, he said he would speak with his family and decide whether he wants to extend his contract as President of Bayern Munich.

For the time being, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out a piece by BFW’s Brian Burton, who chronicled how Hoeness made Bayern Munich what it is today:

(Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)