“A lot of money is gone”
1,300 euros net: Ex-Bayern star now lives in poverty
01/27/2025 – 7:28 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
He once earned a lavish content. But there is nothing left of that. Ex-Bundesliga professional Jürgen Wegmann now emotionally speaks about his private descent.
With his iconic sentence “At first we were not lucky and then there was bad luck,” Jürgen Wegmann once shaped an era in German football. As a player of FC Bayern Munich, he celebrated the championship in 1989, later he also wore Borussia Dortmund’s jersey. But the shine of past days has long since faded: the now 59-year-old, who wore the nickname “Kobra” as a player, lives with just 1,300 euros a month.
In TV format “You talk about money!” At Sat.1, Wegmann now gave insights into his financial situation. His disability pension is paid by the professional association-a drastic difference to the approximately 300,000 D-marks, which he earned in his best times annually. “A lot of money is gone,” he admits openly.
After a cruciate ligament rupture in 1994, the former striker had to end his career prematurely. While other colleagues got into the coaching or management business, Wegmann hit other ways: On the mediation of Bayern icon Uli Hoeneß, he found a job as a bouncer in the fan shop of the record champions. Later he also worked as a warehouse clerk at Borussia Dortmund.
However, the financial burdens due to a divorce and maintenance payments affected him. “I had a row house, but the money was quickly gone,” said Wegmann. Today he looks back self -critically. Did he put his assets in the sand? “That’s 100 percent like that,” he says.
Wegmann is currently living in a simple two-room apartment in the Ruhr area, for which he pays 500 euros in warm rent. Luxury is searched for in vain: there is only a mattress in the bedroom. “I don’t need a bed. I feel so comfortable,” emphasizes the ex-professional.
The view in the fridge also shows: Wegmann lives modestly. Land hunter sausages and chocolate bars are among the few foods that he treats himself. However, he describes his freezer for which he spent 700 euros for one of the few larger purchases.
After deducting the fixed costs, the former star striker will only remain around 375 euros a month. He finances physiotherapy, the hairdresser and every now and then a visit to the currywurst snack. “Once a week fries, that has to be in there,” he says with a smile.
Despite the modest conditions, Jürgen Wegmann seems to have made his peace with the situation. He looks back on moving times in German football, while his everyday life is characterized by simplicity today – far from the glamor that he once experienced.