FC Bayern Munich has donated half a million euros to the Franz Beckenbauer Foundation. The money was raised through the sale of jerseys and fan paraphernalia after the death of the German football “emperor”. On Tuesday, before the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and CFO Michael Diederich symbolically presented a large check for this sum to widow Heidi Beckenbauer, who came to the Allianz Arena with her son Joel.
“After saying goodbye to Franz Beckenbauer, we said that we wanted to do something. We are very happy and very proud to be able to hand over 500,000 euros to the Franz Beckenbauer Foundation today. This great sum came from the auctions of the jerseys with the inscription “Thank you Franz”, which our players wore in honor of Franz against Hoffenheim, from the sale of our merchandising items and from numerous donations from our fans,” said Dreesen before kick-off.
Heidi Beckenbauer accepted the check. “On behalf of the Franz Beckenbauer Foundation, we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this great donation,” she said. “Franz has supported people in need for years. We are very grateful and it is an honor to continue his work with the foundation.” Beckenbauer died on January 7th.
“Nobody can split good friends”
The choreography was also dedicated to the German football icon. “In honor of Emperor Franz – give everything for the final,” read a large banner. Before kick-off, the legendary Beckenbauer song “Nobody can separate good friends” was played.
“This semi-final against Real Madrid is a wonderful setting: the Allianz Arena is full, and all of us here will never forget Franz Beckenbauer: he also played historic games against clubs like Real Madrid – and with him as captain, FC Bayern has exactly that “We won the European Cup for the first time in 50 years,” said Dreesen. “Franz Beckenbauer will always be in the hearts of everyone at FC Bayern.”
Bayern squad information about the semi-final games squad Real Madrid Champions League schedule
