Borussia Mönchengladbach’s President Rainer Bonhof burst into tears at the annual general meeting of the relegation-threatened Bundesliga club.
At the beginning of his annual report, the 1974 world champion became emotional and began his excursion into his “emotional world as president” clearly: “Shitty year!”
The 1,612 members present at the time applauded, but the 74-year-old began to cry and said in a cracking voice: “I thought we were more stable.”
The Borussia club icon particularly mentioned the last derby at 1. FC Köln a month ago, when the Gladbachers turned a 1:2 into a 3:2 and only ended up playing 3:3. “That hurts,” said Bonhof, who was once also active for FC.
“When you see the fans at away games – it’s not worth it for them to get relegated,” said Bonhof through tears and added pathetically: “But we have a bargaining chip and that’s the diamond. And I won’t let it out of my hands.” Bonhof then caught himself and finished his report in a normal tone.
Athletic regression continues and causes another loss
Borussia Mönchengladbach, a former Champions League participant, has been in transition for years and is playing against relegation this season. Last fall, the Gladbach team parted ways with coach Gerardo Seoane and sports director Roland Virkus. There have also been discussions about Seoane’s successor Eugen Polanski for weeks. Three game days before the end of the season, the Gladbachers are six points ahead of the relegation zone.
Due to the decline in sport in recent years, there was again a loss of almost four million euros after taxes in the past financial year. Compared to 2024, the pre-tax loss only increased by a good 600,000 euros, but an additional tax payment of around 700,000 euros was due for four years.
It was the second year in a row in which a loss was made. This was due in particular to significantly lower TV revenues. In 2024 the loss was 2.5 million euros. The Bundesliga soccer team increased its sales by almost five million euros to 189.31 million euros last year.
