Munich (Germany) (AFP)

After 40 years of rule, Uli Hoeness left the presidency of Bayern Munich on Friday at the age of 67, while the club recorded a new record profit for the 2018-2019 financial year.

The candidate he had dubbed to succeed him, the former CEO of Adidas Herbert Hainer, was elected unsurprisingly by the vast majority of the 6,700 members present of the club (79 votes against), at a general meeting where the financial results of the year were presented: a historic turnover of 750.4 million euros (up 93 million over one year) and a profit after taxes also record of 52.5 million.

On the sporting side, Bayern had a chaotic start to the season with the dismissal of coach Niko Kovac on 3 November. Club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge took the opportunity to announce that Kovac's former deputy, Hansi Flick, acting coach, was being extended "until Christmas and maybe beyond" .

In his candidacy speech, Mr Hainer was very much in line with his predecessor's philosophy: "Our ultimate goal is not to always win more money," he said, "FC Bayern it's sport, it's a homeland, it's Bavaria, it's our soul and to this soul, we must always remain faithful ".

"Our success should not be at the expense of our identity," he insisted, promising to maintain "the balance between healthy accounts, sports success and our Bavarian roots".

Bayern has built its prosperity on its own strengths, still refusing entry into its capital of a single patron or investor.

- "Well, I'm done!" -

When Uli Hoeness was appointed manager of Bayern Munich in 1979, at the age of 27, the turnover was 12 million deutschmarks, or six million euros. Hoeness, the club's manager until 2009 and then president since then (apart from his two years in prison for tax evasion), has made Bayern a giant of football in forty years.

As of January 1, according to Deloitte's ranking, the Bavarian club was the fourth largest in Europe in terms of turnover, with Real Madrid at the top of the list with 750 last year. 9 million revenues.

"That's it, I'm done, thank you," said Uli Hoeness at the end of his farewell speech, greeted by the ovation of the thousands of club members present. Under his tenure as manager and president, the Munich club has won the Bundesliga 24 times, the Cup 14 times, and the Champions League twice, in 2001 and 2013.

"But I do not want to say that I did all that, it's us, all of us, who did it," said Hoeness.

On Friday, Fifa President Gianni Infantino described Uli Hoeness as "a major personality in German football and a pioneer who developed FC Bayern into a globally respected club".

© 2019 AFP