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Michael Gerlinger, 50, will leave FC Bayern Munich on September 30, 2023. This is being done in close consultation with the management board. In his 18 extremely successful years at FC Bayern, Gerlinger has held various positions, initially as director of legal affairs, and most recently as vice president sports business and competitions.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, member of the supervisory board and FC Bayern CEO from 2002 to 2021, on whose initiative Gerlinger joined the club in 2005, said, “I regret that Michael is leaving FC Bayern. With his great expertise and his outstanding network throughout the footballing world, he has done FC Bayern a great service. The founding of the European Club Association (ECA) and UEFA Events SA, the introduction of release fees and insurance cover for our international players or the negotiation of distribution scales and solidarity payments are just some of the merits in his time at FC Bayern, during which I always worked closely and trustfully with him. I would like to thank him very much for this on behalf of FC Bayern and personally. I wish him good luck and success in his next endeavour. Michael will always be very welcome here.”
Jan-Christian Dreesen, FC Bayern CEO, said, “We would like to express our sincere thanks to Michael Gerlinger for almost two decades of outstanding work at and for FC Bayern. With his quality and commitment, he has contributed a great deal to the great success we have enjoyed with him. I have always greatly appreciated working with him. He felt and lived the ‘Mia san mia’ feeling, he took responsibility and always identified fully with his task. I wish him all the best for his future and say: See you soon, Michael!”
Michael Gerlinger, said, “They were 18 great years. I was able to do pioneering work for FC Bayern, such as the foundation of the European Club Association (ECA), the cooperation in the newly regulated transfer market and especially the signing of Javi Martínez – the first ever clause transfer in football – or the cooperation with the Los Angeles Football Club. I will always carry the joy of many titles, especially of course the treble victories in 2013 and 2020. Now was the right time for me to leave, even though it is extremely difficult for me to say goodbye to FC Bayern. I would like to thank the board for the trust they have placed in me. I would also like to thank my colleagues and all the staff for the ever-trusting cooperation, in which I found great joy for 18 years.”
Dr Gerlinger holds a doctorate in law and a Master of Business Administration (MA). He was permanently contracted by FC Bayern in 2005, having previously worked closely with the club as an external lawyer. He built up the legal department, the institutional relations department and the human resources department. Gerlinger served as director of legal affairs, human resources and institutional relations of FC Bayern München AG until 2021. In 2021, he was appointed vice president sports business and competitions. Since 2023, he has also been chairman of the newly founded Red&Gold Football GmbH.
Gerlinger was instrumental in the creation of the European Club Association in 2008. He has since achieved numerous important advances for European football clubs there, for example the payment of release fees for international players to World Cups and European Championships and their insurance, or the regulation of money distribution and solidarity payments in European club football. Since 2017, Gerlinger was a member of the ECA board, and from 2021 until the appointment of Oliver Kahn, he was also vice chairman of the ECA.
From 2017 to 2019, and since 2021, Gerlinger also held the position of managing director at UEFA Club Competitions SA in Nyon, which he also played a key role in founding.
