“A disgrace for Bayern Munich!” Former Bayern star wanted to beat up Uli Hoeneß

Uli Hoeneß is a man who polarises. A former Bayern star has now revealed that he once even wanted to beat up the 74-year-old.

Bayern patron Uli Hoeneß received the Legend Award at the Sport Bild gala on Monday evening, but former Bayern star Thomas Helmer used the red carpet to share a remarkable story: he once wanted to beat up the former manager.

"He sometimes did wild things as well. When he gets emotional, I experienced him differently in the dressing room too. We almost had a fight once as well. I wanted to beat up Uli Hoeneß," Helmer reports.

"It was a Champions League match, I think against Kyiv. Old Olympic Stadium, felt like minus 17 degrees, 13,000 spectators - but live on television," the former defender went on. "We were 1-0 up at half-time, but I think Kyiv ran through on our goal three times, they just did not get the ball in."

Then Hoeneß "went crazy: 'What are you playing at, what are you serving up to the spectators? This is an outrage for Bayern Munich. Millions are watching, no matter how many are here in the stadium... even if it is cold.' I then walked past him and he yelled: 'and you're running around like my grandfather!'"

Helmer was not going to let that dressing-down go. He then "took a cup of electrolytes and wanted to throw it at his head. But I did not hit him, I hit the wall. Then he was smart enough to go to the physios in the dressing room and hide."

Helmer gushes about Uli Hoeneß as a person

By the next day, the anger on both sides had already blown over. "The next day we then had a completely open conversation. Uli never held a grudge," said Helmer, who still speaks in glowing terms about Hoeneß as a person despite those emotional outbursts.

"There are two people in the world I would go to if I had a problem. No matter whether private, financial or health-related - one of them is Uli Hoeneß!" Helmer said.