Bayern Strikes
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Four ‘What if’ situations in recent Bayern Munich history

By Joshua Bishop

MUNICH, GERMANY - DECEMBER 14: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Philippe Coutinho of FC Bayern Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team's sixth goal with team mates during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and SV Werder Bremen at Allianz Arena on December 14, 2019 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
MUNICH, GERMANY - DECEMBER 14: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Philippe Coutinho of FC Bayern Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team's sixth goal with team mates during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and SV Werder Bremen at Allianz Arena on December 14, 2019 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /
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MOENCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY – MARCH 02: President Uli Hoeness of Bayern Muenchen looks on prior to the Bundesliga match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and FC Bayern Muenchen at Borussia-Park on March 2, 2019 in Moenchengladbach, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images)
MOENCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY – MARCH 02: President Uli Hoeness of Bayern Muenchen looks on prior to the Bundesliga match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and FC Bayern Muenchen at Borussia-Park on March 2, 2019 in Moenchengladbach, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images) /

What if Uli Hoeness hadn’t gone to prison?

How about something not related to on-field performance? In March 2014, Uli Hoeness was convicted for evading around €28 million in taxes. He served about half of his three and a half year term from 2014-2016. What if he never evaded taxes and went to prison? What if he was Bayern’s president during that time?

We know that Uli Hoeness always worked had to get the top German talent to Bayern Munich. Once he regained his status as president, he started making that happen. Bringing in Hoffenheim starters Niklas Sule and Sebastian Rudy in the summer of 2017, as well as Serge Gnabry (who then went on loan for a season) and Leon Goretzka in 2018. Last summer, he was also working on bringing Leroy Sane. Schalke goalkeeper Alex Nubel will be arriving in Bavaria this summer. And as for rumors go, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have been linked to the club. All are young Germans entering their prime.

As for those two years go, it would be nice to imagine that Hoeness could have convinced Toni Kroos to remain at the club instead of moving to Real Madrid. Kroos was pretty public about his desire to leave, but the sentencing of Hoeness extinguished any small glimmer of hope regarding the German midfielder staying at the club.

Moreover, Hoeness may have blocked Sane’s transfer to Manchester City and brought him to Bavaria. If Hoeness was working on that transfer instead of being in prison, could it have happened sooner? Obviously, there were already top wingers at the club, but this is a brilliant young German talent that could have eased the squad’s transition.

dark. Next. Four things on Hansi Flick's agenda

He’s now retired and did great things during his time at Bayern Munich, but it is interesting to think about what the squad would have looked like had he not gone to prison. If you have any other “what ifs,” let us know in the comment section!

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