"I know this is stupid, but I pay my taxes in full," told to Bild in 2005, was another Hoeness statement which received plenty of air time. When a persistent knee injury forced him to retire at just 27, the club made him their youngest-ever general manager. And when Beckenbauer stood down as Bayern president in 2009, Hoeness was ready to succeed him after a 30-year apprenticeship. A dazed and bloodied Hoeness wandering through the woods simply told his rescuer: "I am cold, I am freezing." Unknown to the wider public, he was already obsessively gambling millions on stocks and currencies via his Swiss bank accounts.

Source: Daily Nation November 26, 2016 09:40 UTC