There is a lot of rumblings in the management team at FC Bayern. CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen has to worry about his job; it could happen as early as November 11th. A media report makes serious allegations. A dispute with an employee is said to have escalated.
Serious allegations against the CEO of FC Bayern Munich, Jan-Christian Dreesen (55). “Manager Magazin” reports on an internal power struggle at the German record champions. It’s about criticism of Dreesen’s DFL job, tactical games in the background and difficult leadership behavior.
An incident that Dreesen is accused of: According to the report, a dispute with an employee escalated around three years ago. Dreesen is said to have insulted the woman and thrown a magazine at her. The incident was investigated internally and the woman no longer works for the club.
Dreesen, CEO of Munich since May 2023, did not want to comment on the content. The club did not respond to “Manager Magazin’s” request. Dreesen’s only choice with the record champions is to voluntarily forego a contract extension – or to be thrown out sooner or later.
Frontal attack against Dreesen
According to the report, insiders interpreted the joint action by the supervisory board and CFO as a frontal attack against Dreesen. The club is said to have made it clear to Dreesen in recent weeks that he should give up his DFL job and hand it over to CFO Diederich. However, Dreesen has not yet agreed to this.
In recent months, the CEO has fallen out of favor with a number of supervisory board members, among other things because Dreesen, as a DFL executive board member, was involved in the deal to auction off the television rights. The league had awarded the contract to the pay-TV broadcaster Sky, even though the streaming service DAZN had offered more money. The auction ended in arbitration and must now be repeated.
On the one hand, Dresen was partly responsible for the botched auction – and on the other hand, he could have explained the background to the dispute with DAZN to his supervisory board at any time. An insider is quoted in the report: “By then it was clear that there was a lot of rumblings.” They had “thrown their own man in the DFL presidium in front of the bus and sabotaged it.”
In an indignant letter to the DFL in the summer, the Bayern supervisory board (including Uli Hoeneß and Rummenigge) demanded explanations as to why the auction could go so wrong with more than a dozen questions. The letter was signed by Michael Diederich (59), the current finance director of FC Bayern.
Rummenigge as a temporary solution?
After Oliver Kahn was fired as Bayern boss in May 2023, the club appointed Dreesen (previously responsible for finances at the club) as his successor. But a year and a half and a season without a title later, the former banker is on the verge of retirement.
His contract doesn’t expire until the middle of next year. However, a decision about his future is expected to be made at the supervisory board meeting on November 11th. According to “Manager Magazin”, a new contract lasting several years is currently unlikely.
Former boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is being brought into play as a possible interim solution in order to then have more time to search for a new CEO.
Internally, Diederich is already being considered as a successor candidate. According to insiders, he has made it clear in recent months that he wants the job. Too clear for some in the club. Well-known alternatives such as Christian Seifert (55/former DFL boss) or Oliver Mintzlaff (49/Red Bull boss) are considered rather unlikely.
