DFB star after a failed move
“Hoeneß wrote me a WhatsApp”
Updated on December 4, 2025 – 3:46 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
National striker Nick Woltemade moved to England in the summer. He has checked off the failed transfer to Bayern.
A new adventure began for Nick Woltemade in the summer. He moved from VfB Stuttgart to Newcastle United in England for a fee of 75 million euros. A high transfer fee for the DFB star, which sparked some discussion. Because FC Bayern dropped out of the race for Woltemade because of this large sum. Now the striker commented on this in an interview with “Stern” magazine.
When asked whether the transfer fee was a burden on him, Woltemade replied: “Talking about money is a very German matter. Nobody in England has ever asked me about my transfer fee. I haven’t had to listen to any comments in the dressing room either. People have obviously gotten used to these sums.”
It was different for Bayern, who decided against a Woltemade transfer. “I had two days to think about it. But I didn’t have to think about it for long anyway, because Newcastle United is a great club that plays in the strongest league in the world. My goal has always been to compete with the best,” said Woltemade.
After it was finally clear that he was moving to Newcastle, he received a WhatsApp message from Uli Hoeneß. The honorary president of FC Bayern had previously personally sought a change and is otherwise considered one of the last friends of the fax machine.
“In this case it was probably a commissioned work,” said Woltemade. “In any case, I was very pleased with the appreciation that Mr. Hoeneß showed me.” The 73-year-old wished him all the best for the new season.
By the way, Woltemade has also decided to stop reading articles about itself. “The fatal thing is: If you read ten great stories about yourself and then suddenly one negative one, your thoughts only revolve around this one bad story,” said the national striker.
He discovered that the brain particularly picks out the negative. “That’s why I’ll stop reading about myself.” Things were different last season, says Woltemade. At that time he had won the DFB Cup with VfB Stuttgart: “I was celebrated then. That felt good and I felt a little better.”