Although a “shocking” amount of money has been burned, Lars Windhorst is ready for further investments at Hertha – but demands that president Werner Gegenbauer be voted out in return.
The long-simmering conflict between investor and president has reached a new climax at Hertha BSC. On Sunday, Lars Windhorst publicly attacked Werner Gegenbauer and blatantly demanded that he be voted out of office.
“I am clearly against the head of the presidium and his followers,” Windhorst said on “Bild-TV”. “And this is the first time I’ve said that so clearly after such a long time. It is now high time that we turn the tide in all matters. As Fredi Bobic said, I’m counting on the positive effects of a new start. But we also need this new start at the top. I am now very convinced of that. “
Windhorst: “I will no longer work with Mr. Gegenbauer in the future “
Hertha is a “toy” for Gegenbauer, Windhorst claimed. “He has been president for over ten years and it has become clear to me that he does not do everything to bring about the success of the club, but very much to consolidate his own hold on power. There are cronies and, in my view, cronyism.”
Andreas Fritzenkötter, the spokesman for Windhorst’s Tennor holding company, recently said that something had to happen at the general meeting in May. This appeal is directed at the members, Windhorst now explained: “You have to consider who is a good new candidate. I would support any reasonable candidate.” He said he himself was not available for this, nor would he put up an opposing candidate of his own. But his goal is clear: the end of the Gegenbauer era, which began in May 2008.
“I will no longer work with Mr. Gegenbauer in the future,” he announced, “and that is why I am resigning from my position on the advisory board with immediate effect. I will appoint a representative there who will do this for me. Also to show clearly: On the one hand, I can’t and don’t want to work with Mr. Gegenbauer any more, and on the other hand, I personally have no ambition whatsoever to get more involved in the club. “
Windhorst: “The club definitely needs new money again to survive “
It was “shocking that so much money was burned in such a short time”, said Windhorst, who has pumped €374m into Hertha since joining in 2019. “The club definitely needs new money again to survive. I think that’s a dramatically important statement.” However, he ties further investment to Gegenbauer’s future: “I will certainly not invest new capital with this leadership, but I would certainly invest new capital in the first league and also in the second league if there are good people also in the club’s leadership who pull together cooperatively. “
