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Former Hertha President Gegenbauer (left) and investor Windhorst
Photo: IMAGO/Bernd Koenig
After his resignation as President of Hertha BSC, Werner Gegenbauer made serious allegations against million-dollar investor Lars Windhorst.
“In the past few weeks, in the middle of the relegation battle, he has set the club on fire.
Windhorst is responsible for a split that has unsettled the club and all departments.
It will be the task of my successor to undo this split," Gegenbauer told the Tagesspiegel.
Hertha secured relegation in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at Hamburger SV on Monday.
Gegenbauer had announced his resignation on Tuesday after 14 years at the top of the association and had thus preempted a humiliating vote-out at the general meeting next Sunday.
Windhorst, among others, called for Gegenbauer to fall in March and accused the entrepreneur of having burned his investment of 374 million euros at Hertha.
"I would do it again"
Gegenbauer now accused Windhorst of mood-mongering.
"He lures by giving more money when the club gets a new management," he said.
He and the outgoing finance director Ingo Schiller stood in the way of the 45-year-old in order to gain more influence on the operational business of the Bundesliga club, emphasized Gegenbauer of the "Bild" newspaper.
At the same time, he did not always meet his payment obligations on time, which "has caused considerable turbulence in the license player department," said Gegenbauer.
Windhorst is expected to respond to the allegations on Wednesday.
The financial expert had also accused Gegenbauer of cheating, which the former Hertha boss firmly rejected.
»In short: everything went correctly.
Those are the facts," said the 71-year-old.
Despite the harsh words, Gegenbauer described the deal with Windhorst as the best decision of his tenure.
"I would do it again.
Firstly, because Hertha BSC urgently needed this money for change as a club and company.
Without this money we would be worse off.
And secondly, because I believe in the benefits of an investment,” said Gegenbauer.
In the future, the cooperation will be »quieter and more harmonious«.
aha/dpa