“Kicker”-Interview
Increasing stress in football – Rummenigge sees the players as being partly to blame
Often takes offense: ex-Bayern board boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
© Pierre Teyssot / MAXPPP / Imago Images
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is known for polarizing statements. Now the 69-year-old deals against players. They are also to blame for the overload in professional football.
Due to the growing number of games, more and more professional footballers have recently complained about the increasing stress. The Spanish European champion Rodri recently even brought up a players’ strike. A few days later he seriously injured his knee and was out for the rest of the season.
For Bayern Munich’s long-time CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the increasing stress on footballers is sometimes their own fault. “The players and their agents have maneuvered themselves into this trap. By demanding more and ever higher salaries, they are forcing the clubs to generate ever higher income. And how does this income come from? Through more games,” he said 69-year-old told the specialist magazine “Kicker”.
It would be good if everyone involved sat down at the table and discussed emotionlessly “which mechanisms we need to bring about more serious and rational times again – including in business,” said Rummenigge.
Club World Cup “will excite people,” claims Rummenigge
Rummenigge is also a supporter of the Club World Cup: “This tournament, which will be held in this form for the first time next year, will inspire people. I am convinced that it will be a good tournament. And it will appeal to everyone four years, you shouldn’t forget that.”
The FIFA-run tournament with 32 teams is taking place in the USA and, in Rummenigge’s view, is therefore also a “test balloon” for the 2026 World Cup. However, the venues hardly match those for the World Cup, which is also in Canada and Mexico is played. During the Club World Cup, five World Cup stadiums will host the Gold Cup, which also takes place in the USA, and the continental championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean.
The Club World Cup, which takes place from June 15th to July 13th, has recently come under increasing criticism. Players warn of overload. Contracts expiring on June 30th and thus during the tournament cause potential difficulties. It is also unclear which sponsors and media partners can be won for the Club World Cup. From Germany, FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are sure to be there.
