Bayern unveil statue of legend

Beckenbauer remains an unforgettable figure for German football fans, especially since his passing in 2024.

Bayern have already commemorated the three-time European Cup winner in a number of ways - for example, a large top bearing the number five, worn by Beckenbauer for the majority of his Bayern career, hangs from the roof of Bayern's Allianz Arena home stadium.

On Friday 12 September, the statue was unveiled by Heidi Beckenbauer, Franz's widow, and several of Bayern's board of directors - including CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and Herbert Hainer - at a special ceremony in front of around 300 invited guests, including many of his former teammates. Matilde Romagnoli, the artist who created the statue, was also present.

Bayern supporters themselves donated the money for the statue, which was commisioned by the Kurt Landauer Foundation. The club's hierarchy had offered financial support for the memorial, but the foundation declined.

Upon the unveiling, Hainer said: "This monument is a piece of Bayern's DNA, cast in bronze. It stands for Beckenbauer and everything he embodied: for style, for attitude - for Bavaria. Munich is getting more than just a monument - a reflection of the city itself: proud, self-confident, elegant, and down-to-earth."

Honorary president Uli Hoeneß, meanwhile, thanked the fans who contributed financially, saying: "Bayern can be proud of the people who founded the Kurt Landauer Foundation. There's an enormous amount of commitment behind all of this, and we as a club are very grateful for that."

Watch: The legend of Franz Beckenbauer

The statue, made of bronze, is the second of a Bayern legend outside the stadium, with Beckenbauer joining record goalscorer Gerd Müller, who passed away in 2021.