Disgraced ex-Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness is due to be released from prison on Monday as he contemplates a return to the club he built into a European powerhouse.
The 64-year-old has served 21 months of his three-and-a-half year sentence after being convicted in March 2014 of having evaded paying at least €28.5 million in taxes.
Hoeness, the son of a German butcher who became a millionaire businessman, rose to fame as the driving force behind Bayern’s rise before his fall from grace.
Even behind bars, Hoeness was never far from Bayern.
As soon he as he was granted day release in January 2015, he immediately started working in the club’s youth academy.
“It’s not over!” was Hoeness’s battle cry to FC Bayern in May 2014, shortly before starting his sentence.
He has said he will announce his future plans on July 1.
The date coincides with the start of Carlo Ancelotti’s reign as Bayern’s coach to replace Pep Guardiola, but until then Hoeness says he ‘just wants to be a fan again’.
His first public engagement will be at a ceremony to honour Jupp Heynckes, who coached Bayern to the 2013 treble, in Moenchengladbach on March 13.
Three days later, Hoeness will be at Munich’s Allianz Arena to watch Bayern’s Champions League last 16, second leg at home to Juventus.
During his playing career, Hoeness was a central midfielder at the heart of the Bayern team which won the European Cup three times between 1974-76.
A persistent knee injury forced the 1974 World Cup winner to retire at just 27 and he became the club’s youngest-ever manager.
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